What does corrosion mean?
Word: Corrosion
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Corrosion means the slow damage done to metal by air, water or chemicals, as when iron rusts.
Synonyms: rust
Word origin: From Latin corrodere, which is built on rodere.
How do you spell corrosion?
Syllables: cor - ro - sion
Tricky part: The double r is what students lose: corosion is the usual slip, since the sound gives no hint of it.
Watch out for: corosion, carrosion, currosion
Memory tip: Rust loves a railway line, and a line has two rails: let them stand for the two r's.
Corrosion in a sentence
Example 1: The mechanic pointed to the corrosion around the old car battery.
Example 2: Engineers check the railway bridge every year for signs of corrosion.
Example 3: Our science project compared the corrosion of iron nails in tap water and salt water.
Fun Fact
The Iron Pillar of Delhi has stood in the open for about 1,600 years with surprisingly little corrosion.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
corro____
a) sion
b) shun
c) sian
d) tion
Show answer
a) sion. Corrode loses its de and takes this ending, as explode does.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:
Corrosion goes back to the Latin word rodere, which means ___.
a) bend
b) burn
c) gnaw
d) melt
Show answer
c) gnaw. Rodents, the animals that nibble and chew, take their name from the same Latin word.
Word Twins
Read both sentences and choose the correct option:
1. Years of damp air caused ___ of the iron railings. 2. Heavy monsoon rain caused ___ of the hillside soil.
a) 'corrosion' in both
b) erosion/corrosion
c) 'erosion' in both
d) corrosion/erosion
Show answer
d) corrosion/erosion. Metal is eaten away by a chemical change, while rain and wind carry soil away.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) explode : explosion
b) decide : decision
c) corrode : corrosion
d) collide : collission
Show answer
d) collide : collission. The noun of collide has a single s.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these metals shows almost no corrosion, even after centuries under the sea?
a) gold
b) steel
c) zinc
d) iron
Show answer
a) gold
2. Why are the steel hulls of ships painted so often?
a) to help the crew see at night
b) to lower the sound of the engines
c) to make the ship sail much faster
d) to keep sea water away from the metal
Show answer
d) to keep sea water away from the metal
