Oxidation and Reduction Flashcards
How is oxidation defined in terms of oxygen and hydrogen?
Oxidation is defined as the addition of oxygen to a substance or the removal of hydrogen from a substance.
How is reduction defined in terms of oxygen and hydrogen?
Reduction is defined as the removal of oxygen from a substance or the addition of hydrogen to a substance.
What is oxidation and reduction in terms of electron transfer?
Oxidation involves the loss of electrons from a substance.
Reduction involves the gain of electrons by a substance.
What are oxidation numbers, and how are they used in redox reactions?
Oxidation numbers are assigned to elements in a compound to keep track of electron transfer. They help identify which elements are oxidized and which are reduced in a reaction.
Oxidation number is used to balance redox reactions by ensuring the total increase in oxidation numbers equals the total decrease.
How do you determine the oxidation number of a chemical species?
The oxidation number of an element in a compound is determined based on a set of rules:
* The oxidation number of an element in its standard state is 0.
- The sum of oxidation numbers in a neutral compound is 0.
- In polyatomic ions, the sum of oxidation numbers equals the charge of the ion.
How do you balance redox reactions?
To balance redox reactions:
- Identify and write the oxidation and reduction half-reactions.
- Balance the atoms in each half-reaction, excluding oxygen and hydrogen.
- Balance oxygen atoms by adding H₂O molecules and hydrogen atoms by adding H⁺ ions (in acidic solutions) or OH⁻ ions (in basic solutions).
- Balance the charge by adding electrons.
- Multiply the half-reactions by appropriate coefficients to equalize the number of electrons.
- Add the half-reactions and simplify.
How do you distinguish between oxidizing and reducing agents?
Oxidizing agents are substances that gain electrons (are reduced) and cause oxidation in other substances.
Reducing agents are substances that lose electrons (are oxidized) and cause reduction in other substances.
What are some tests for oxidizing and reducing agents?
Oxidizing agents can be tested using substances like potassium iodide (KI) or hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) which undergo oxidation in the presence of these agents.
Reducing agents can be tested using substances like potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) or dichromate (Cr₂O₇²⁻), which get reduced when reacting with reducing agents.
How is oxidation number used in naming inorganic compounds?
In IUPAC nomenclature, oxidation numbers are used to indicate the oxidation state of elements in a compound. This is often shown as a Roman numeral in the name of the compound.
What is the oxidation number of chlorine in NaClO₄?
In NaClO₄, chlorine has an oxidation number of +7. This is determined by considering the oxidation numbers of sodium (+1) and oxygen (-2), and solving for chlorine.
