Chapter 17, Problem 17.40P

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

It is to be determined which species, if any, in the given reaction are oxidized or reduced.

Concept introduction:

The oxidation state of an atom can be calculated using two steps.

First is to assign proper number of valence electrons to the atom. In this case, both electrons of a lone pair are assigned to the atom on which they appear. In a covalent bond, all the electrons are assigned to the more electronegative atom. If the two bonded atoms are the same or have comparable electro-negativities, then electrons get divided equally to both the atoms.

Second is by comparing the assigned valence electrons to an atom to the atom’s group number. In this, each excess electron contributes -1 charge while each electron the atom is lacking contributes +1 charge to the oxidation state.

In general, loss of electrons from the reactant side to the product side is termed as oxidation while the gain of electrons is termed as reduction.