Iron and Rust Iron is a silvery solid white metal that can be found in Group VIII of the periodic table. Iron’s atomic weight is 55.847 and its atomic number is 26. Its chemical symbol is Fe. Iron can be found in the Earth’s crust and is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Rust, otherwise known as the corrosion of iron, forms when iron, water, and oxygen react with one another. Iron that is totally immersed in a substance usually tends to corrode slower than iron partially immersed in a substance. The formation of rust has been studied very carefully, and it has been determined that it is