Electrochemistry Activity: Balancing REDOX Reactions

Reduction-Oxidation reactions (or REDOX reactions) occur when the chemical species
involved in the reactions gain and lose electrons. Oxidation and reduction occur
simultaneously in order to conserve charge. We can “see” these changes if we assign
oxidation numbers to the reactants and products. For rules about assigning oxidation
numbers, check the ebook’s list of rules. In order to balance REDOX reactions, you must first
be able to assign oxidation numbers well.

Oxidation – The loss of electrons, resulting in a more positively charged species.

Reduction – The gain of electrons, resulting in a more negatively charged species.

When presented with a REDOX reaction in this class, we will use the “half-reactions”
method to balance the reaction. We will look at this method for three different situations: a
simple reaction without hydrogen or oxygen to balance, a reaction in an acidic solution, and
a reaction in a basic solution

Balancing a simple REDOX reaction without hydrogen or oxygen to balance:

K (s) + Br2 (l) → KBr (aq)

• First, is this even a REDOX reaction? Is there a species that is being reduced and a
species that is being oxidized? We must assign oxidation numbers. A good way to
start is to write out an ionic equation. We often remove the state symbols for
clarity’s sake.

K+ Br2→ K+ + Br¯
Oxidation Numbers: 0 0 → +1 -1

• Yes; the potassium (K) has been oxidized and the bromine (Br) has been reduced.

• Now, we break the reaction into two half-reactions: the oxidation half-reaction and
the reduction half-reaction.

Oxidation ½ Reaction: K → K+

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → Br¯

• Next, we balance all the elements in the half-reactions:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: K → K+

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2Br¯

• Now, we balance all the charges in the half-reactions by adding electrons.

o In the oxidation half-reaction we start with a total charge on the reactant
side of 0 and a total charge on the product side of +1. To balance this, we
 must add one electron to the product side. Now both sides have a total
overall charge of zero.
o In the reduction half-reaction, we start with a total charge of zero for
reactants and -2 for products. (Each bromine ion has a -1 charge and there
are two of them.) We must add two electrons to the reactant side to make
both sides equal.
o Note that electrons are added to the products side in the oxidation half-
reaction and to the reactants side in the reduction half-reaction. This should
always be true.

Oxidation ½ Reaction: K → K+ + 1e¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 + 2e¯ → 2Br¯

• We would like to combine these two half-reactions into a final overall reaction. We
must cancel out all the electrons because these are not part of our overall equation.
Right now if we tried to add our equations, we would be in trouble! The number of
electrons on the reactant side (2e-) is greater than the number of electrons on the
product side (1e-).

• To fix this problem, we balance the half-reactions like an algebraic system of

equations. Here, we will multiply everything in the oxidation half-reaction by 2 in
order to bring the total number of electrons up to 2 electrons:

Original Oxidation ½ Reaction: 2x(K → K+ + 1e¯)

New Oxidation ½ Reaction: 2K → 2K+ + 2e¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 + 2e¯ → 2Br¯

• Now, combine the new half-reactions into a final equation. Note that all of the
electrons have cancelled out:

New Oxidation ½ Reaction: 2K → 2K+ + 2e¯

+ +
Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 + 2e¯ → 2Br¯

Balanced Ionic Equation: 2K + Br2→ 2K+ + 2Br¯

• Check that the charges on all the species are balanced. Remember to multiply the
charges on a species by the coefficient! Here our reaction is balanced. We can fill-in
our balanced coefficients to the original reaction from the problem:

Balanced Equation: 2K (s) + Br2 (l) → 2KBr (aq)

Practice:

Are these reactions all REDOX reactions? If yes, then balance the reaction using the half-
reaction method. Identify the species being oxidized and reduced, write out the half
reaction and balance them

1. _2_ Au3+ (aq) + _6_I¯ (aq) → _2_Au (s) + _3_I2 (s)

To balance elements: Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 2I¯ → I2

Reduction ½ reaction: Au3+ → Au

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 2I¯ → I2 + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: Au3+ + 3e¯ → Au

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 3x(2I¯ → I2 + 2e¯)

New Oxidation ½ reaction: 6I¯ → 3I2 + 6e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 2x(Au3+ + 3e¯ → Au)

New Reduction ½ reaction: 2Au3+ + 6e¯ → 2Au

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: 6I¯ → 3I2 + 6e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: + 2Au3+ + 6e¯ → 2Au

Combined Balanced Equation: 6I¯ + 2Au3+ → 3I2 + 2 Au

2. Cu (s) + _2_Ag+ (aq) → Cu2+ (aq) + _2_Ag (s)

To balance elements: Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: Cu → Cu2+

Reduction ½ reaction: Ag+ → Ag

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: Cu → Cu2+ + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: Ag+ + 1e¯ → Ag

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

 Oxidation ½ reaction: Cu → Cu2+ + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 2x(Ag+ + 1e¯ → Ag)

New Reduction ½ reaction: 2Ag+ + 2e¯ → 2Ag

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: Cu → Cu2+ + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: + 2Ag+ + 2e¯ → 2Ag

Combined Balanced Equation: Cu + 2Ag+ → Cu2+ + 2Ag

3. BaSO3 (s) → BaO (s) + SO2 (g)

NOT A REDOX REACTION. Also, it is already balanced.

Balancing more complex REDOX reactions

Aqueous solutions in electrochemistry are often acidic or basic. The protons (H+) and
hydroxides (OH-) present in the solution contribute the balancing of chemical species and
charges in our half reactions. We will still follow a method of half-reactions, just with a bit
more balancing.

Balancing REDOX reactions in ACIDIC solutions

ClO3¯ (aq) + I2 (s) → IO3¯ (aq) + Cl¯ (aq)

(in acidic solution)

• First, is this even a REDOX reaction? Is there a species that is being reduced and a
species that is being oxidized? We must assign oxidation numbers. A good way to
start is to write out an ionic equation. Here, the equation is already written in an
ionic equation format, so we must do some more work to assign oxidation numbers
(see ebook rules).

ClO3¯ (aq) + I2 (s) → IO3¯ (aq) + Cl¯ (aq)

Oxidation Numbers: +5 -2 0 → +5 -2 -1

• Yes, the Iodine (I) has been oxidized and the Chlorine (Cl) has been reduced.
• Now, we break the reaction into two half-reactions:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: I2 → IO3¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: ClO3¯ → Cl¯

• Next, we balance all the elements EXCEPT FOR Hydrogen and Oxygen:
 Oxidation ½ Reaction: I2 → 2IO3¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: ClO3¯ → Cl¯

• Now, to balance the OXYGENS, add water molecules to the half-reactions as needed:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: I2 + 6H2O → 2IO3¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: ClO3¯ → Cl¯ +3H2O

• Then, to balance the HYDROGENS, add protons (H+) to the half-reactions as needed:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: I2 + 6H2O → 2IO3¯ + 12H+

Reduction ½ Reaction: ClO3¯ +6H+ → Cl¯ +3H2O

• Next, we balance CHARGE by adding electrons. Remember to multiply the charges

on a species by the coefficient! Note that electrons are added to the products side in
the oxidation half-reaction and to the reactants side in the reduction half-reaction.
This should always be true:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: I2 + 6H2O → 2IO3¯ + 12H+ + 10e¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: ClO3¯ + 6H+ + 6e¯ → Cl¯ +3H2O

• We would like to combine these two half-reactions into a final overall reaction. We
must cancel out all the electrons because these are not part of our overall equation.
Right now if we tried to add our equations, we would be in trouble! The number of
electrons on the reactants side (6e-) is less than the number of electrons on the
products side (10e-).

• So, we balance the half-reactions like an algebraic system of equations. Here, we will
multiply everything in the oxidation half-reaction by 3 and everything in the
reduction reaction by 5 in order to bring the total number of electrons up to 30
electrons:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: 3x(I2 + 6H2O → 2IO3¯ + 12H+ + 10e¯)

New Oxidation ½ Reaction: 3I2 + 18H2O → 6IO3¯ + 36H+ + 30¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: 5x(ClO3¯ + 6H+ + 6e¯ → Cl¯ +3H2O)

New Reduction ½ Reaction: 5ClO3¯ + 30H+ + 30e¯ → 5Cl¯ +15H2O

 • Combine the new half-reactions. Note that all of the electrons have cancelled out:

New Oxidation ½ Reaction: 3I2 + 18H2O → 6IO3¯ + 36H+ + 30e¯

+ +
New Reduction ½ Reaction: 5ClO3¯ + 30H+ + 30e¯ → 5Cl¯ +15H2O

Overall Reaction: 3I2 + 18H2O + 5ClO3¯ + 30H+ → 6IO3¯ + 36H+ + 5Cl¯ +15H2O

• Continue to balance the reaction by reducing the number of water molecules and
protons:

Balanced Equation: 3I2 + 3H2O + 5ClO3¯→ 6IO3¯ + 6H+ + 5Cl¯

• It is perfectly acceptable to have protons in our final balanced equation because we

are in an acidic solution, which contains excess protons.

Practice:

Balance the following reactions using the half-reaction method in an acidic solution.

1. _3_NbO2 + _2_W + 2H2O → _3_Nb + _2_WO42- + 4H+

To balance elements (other than O and H): Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: W → WO42-

Reduction ½ reaction: NbO2 → Nb

To balance oxygens: Add water.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4H2O + W → WO42-

Reduction ½ reaction: NbO2 → Nb + 2H2O

To balance hydrogens: Add H+ (since we’re in acidic solutions).

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4H2O + W → WO42- + 8H+

Reduction ½ reaction: 4H+ + NbO2 → Nb + 2H2O

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4H2O + W → WO42- + 8H+ + 6e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 4e¯+ 4H+ + NbO2 → Nb + 2H2O

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 2x(4H2O + W → WO42- + 8H+ + 6e¯)

New Oxidation ½ reaction: 8H2O + 2W → 2WO42- + 16H+ 12e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 3x(4e¯+ 4H+ + NbO2 → Nb + 2H2O)

New Reduction ½ reaction: 12e¯ + 12H+ + 3NbO2 + 12e¯ → 3Nb + 6H2O

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: 8H2O + 2W → 2WO42- + 16H+ 12e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 12 e¯ + 12H+ + 3NbO2 + 12e¯ → 3Nb + 6H2O

Combined Balanced Equation: 3NbO2 + 2W + 2H2O → 2WO42- + 3Nb + 4H+

2. _5_C2H5OH (aq) + _4_MnO4¯ (aq) + 12H+ → _4_Mn2+ (aq) + _5_CH3COOH (aq) + 11H2O

Here the assignment of oxidation numbers can be challenging. Refer to the following
diagrams for the assignment of oxidation numbers on the hydrocarbons!

Ethanol:

Acetic Acid:

To balance elements (other than O and H): Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: C2H5OH → CH3COOH

Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4¯ → Mn2+

To balance oxygens: Add water.

Oxidation ½ reaction: H2O + C2H5OH → CH3COOH

 Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4¯ → Mn2+ + 4H2O

To balance hydrogens: Add H+ (since we’re in acidic solutions).

Oxidation ½ reaction: H2O + C2H5OH → CH3COOH + 4H+

Reduction ½ reaction: 8H+ + MnO4¯ → Mn2+ + 4H2O

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: H2O + C2H5OH → CH3COOH + 4H+ + 4e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 8H+ + MnO4¯ + 5e¯ → Mn2+ + 4H2O

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 5x(H2O + C2H5OH → CH3COOH + 4H+ + 4e¯)

New Oxidation ½ reaction: 5H2O + 5C2H5OH → 5CH3COOH + 20H+ + 20e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 4x(8H+ + MnO4¯ + 5e¯ → Mn2+ + 4H2O)

New Reduction ½ reaction: 32H+ + 4MnO4¯ + 20e¯ → 4Mn2+ + 16H2O

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: 5H2O + 5C2H5OH → 5CH3COOH + 20H+ + 20e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: + 32H+ + 4MnO4¯ + 20e¯ → 4Mn2+ + 16H2O

Combined Balanced Equation: 12H+ + 5C2H5OH + 4MnO4- → 5CH3COOH + 4Mn2+ + 11H2O

3. ClO¯ + _2_ZnO + 6H+ → Cl¯ + _2_Zn3+ + 3H2O

To balance elements (other than O and H): Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: ZnO → Zn3+

Reduction ½ reaction: ClO¯ → Cl¯

To balance oxygens: Add water.

Oxidation ½ reaction: ZnO → Zn3+ + H2O

Reduction ½ reaction: ClO¯ → Cl¯ + H2O

To balance hydrogens: Add H+ (since we’re in acidic solutions).

Oxidation ½ reaction: 2H+ + ZnO → Zn3+ + H2O

Reduction ½ reaction: 2H+ + ClO¯ → Cl¯ + H2O

To balance charge: Add electrons.

 Oxidation ½ reaction: 2H+ + ZnO → Zn3+ + H2O + 1e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 2H+ + ClO¯ + 2e¯ → Cl¯ + H2O

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 2x(2H+ + ZnO → Zn3+ + H2O + 1e¯)

New Oxidation ½ reaction: 4H+ + 2ZnO → 2Zn3+ + 2H2O + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 2H+ + ClO¯ + 2e¯ → Cl¯ + H2O

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4H+ + 2ZnO → 2Zn3+ + 2H2O + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: + 2H+ + ClO¯ + 2e¯ → Cl¯ + H2O

Combined Balanced Equation: 6H+ + 2ZnO + ClO¯ → 2Zn3+ + Cl¯ + 3H2O

Balancing REDOX reactions in BASIC solutions

The process for balancing will begin much in the same way as before.

Br2 (l) → BrO3¯ (aq) + Br¯ (aq)

(in basic solution)

• First, is this even a REDOX reaction? Is there a species that is being reduced and a
species that is being oxidized? We must assign oxidation numbers. A good way to
start is to write out an ionic equation. Here, the equation is already written in an
ionic equation format, so we must do some more work to assign oxidation numbers
(see ebook rules).

Br2 (l) → BrO3¯ (aq) + Br¯ (aq)

Oxidation Numbers: 0 → +5 -2 -1

• Yes, the Bromine (Br) has been oxidized AND reduced (it is possible for both to
happen to the same type of chemical species!).
• Now, we break the reaction into two half-reactions: the oxidation half-reaction and
the reduction half-reaction.

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 → BrO3¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → Br¯

• Next, we balance all the elements EXCEPT FOR Hydrogen and Oxygen:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2BrO3¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2Br¯

• Now, to balance the OXYGENS, add water molecules to the half-reactions as needed:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 6H2O → 2BrO3¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2Br¯

• Then, to balance the HYDROGENS, add protons (H+) to the half-reactions as needed:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 6H2O → 2BrO3¯ + 12H+

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2Br¯

• Next, we before we balance charge adding electrons, we must recognize that it is not
possible to have protons floating around in a basic solution which has excess
hydroxide ions! So wherever we see protons, add the exact same amount of OH1-
ions to both sides of the equation (this keeps the half-reaction balanced, but takes
care of the protons).

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 6H2O + 12OH¯ → 2BrO3¯ + 12H+ + 12OH¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2Br¯

• Anytime a proton and a hydroxide are on the same side of a reaction, they combine
to form a water molecule. We can cancel to reduce the amount of water molecules in
a reaction

Original Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 6H2O + 12OH¯ → 2BrO3¯ + 12H2O

Simplified Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 12OH¯ → 2BrO3¯ + 6H2O

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 → 2Br¯

• Now, balance CHARGE adding electrons. Note that electrons are added to the
products side in the oxidation half-reaction and to the reactants side in the
reduction half-reaction. This should always be true:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 12OH¯ → 2BrO3¯ + 6H2O + 10e¯

Reduction ½ Reaction: Br2 + 2e¯ → 2Br¯

• We would like to combine these two half-reactions into a final overall reaction. We
must cancel out all the electrons because these are not part of our overall equation.
Right now if we tried to add our equations, we would be in trouble! The number of
electrons on the reactants side (2e-) is less than the number of electrons on the
products side (10e-).

• To take care of this issue, we balance the half-reactions like an algebraic system of
equations. Here, we will leave the oxidation half-reaction alone, but multiply
 everything in the reduction reaction by 5 in order to bring the total number of
electrons up to 10 electrons:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 12OH¯→ 2BrO3¯ + 6H2O + 10e¯

Original Reduction ½ Reaction: 5x(Br2 + 2e¯ → 2Br¯)

New Reduction ½ Reaction: 5Br2 + 10e¯ → 10Br¯

• Combine the new half-reactions. Note that all of the electrons have cancelled out:

Oxidation ½ Reaction: Br2 + 12OH¯ → 2BrO3¯ + 6H2O + 10e¯

+ +
New Reduction ½ Reaction: 5Br2 + 10e¯ → 10Br¯

Overall Reaction: Br2 + 12OH¯ +5Br2 → 2BrO3¯ + 6H2O +10Br¯

• Continue to balance the reaction by combining “like” terms and reducing the
number of water molecules and protons:

Balanced Equation: 12OH¯ +6Br2 → 2BrO3¯ + 6H2O +10Br¯

• It is perfectly acceptable to have hydroxides in our final balanced equation because

we are in a basic solution, which contains excess hydroxide.

Practice:

Balance the following reactions using the half-reaction method in a basic solution.

1. 4H2O + 1AlH4¯ + 4H2CO → 1Al3+ + 4CH3OH + 4OH¯

To balance elements (other than O and H): Insert coefficients (nothing needed to be done
here though!)

Oxidation ½ reaction: AlH4¯ → Al3+

Reduction ½ reaction: H2CO → CH3OH

To balance oxygens: Add water (also nothing needed to be added in this example)

Oxidation ½ reaction: AlH4¯ → Al3+

Reduction ½ reaction: H2CO → CH3OH

To balance hydrogens: Add H+.

Oxidation ½ reaction: AlH4¯ → Al3+ + 4H+

Reduction ½ reaction: 2H+ + H2CO → CH3OH

BUT it is a BASIC solution. Add OH- to BOTH sides (enough to combine with all H+)

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4OH¯ + AlH4¯ → Al3+ + 4H+ + 4OH¯

 Combine to make water: 4OH¯ + AlH4¯ → Al3 + 4H2O

Reduction ½ reaction: 2OH¯ + 2H+ + H2CO → CH3OH + 2OH¯

Combine to make water: 2H2O + H2CO → CH3OH + 2OH¯

Cancel any waters on both sides: Not needed in this example

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4OH¯ + AlH4¯ → Al3+ + 4H2O + 8e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 2e– + 2H2O + H2CO → CH3OH + 2OH¯

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4OH¯ + AlH4¯ → Al3+ + 4H2O + 8e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 4x(2e– + 2H2O + H2CO → CH3OH + 2OH¯

NEW Reduction ½ reaction: 8e– + 8H2O + 4H2CO → 4CH3OH + 8OH¯

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: 4OH¯ + AlH4¯ → Al3+ + 4H2O + 8e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 8e– + 8H2O + 4H2CO → 4CH3OH + 8OH¯ +

Combined Balanced Equation:

4H2O + AlH4¯ + 4H2CO → Al3+ + 4CH3OH + 4OH¯

2. Fe + NiO2 + 2H2O → Fe(OH)2 + Ni(OH)2

To balance elements (other than O and H): Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: Fe → Fe(OH)2

Reduction ½ reaction: NiO2 → Ni(OH)2

To balance oxygens: Add water.

Oxidation ½ reaction: Fe + 2H2O → Fe(OH)2

Reduction ½ reaction: NiO2 → Ni(OH)2

To balance hydrogens: Add H+.

Oxidation ½ reaction: Fe + 2H2O → Fe(OH)2 + 2H+

Reduction ½ reaction: NiO2 + 2H+ → Ni(OH)2

BUT it is a BASIC solution. Add OH- to BOTH sides (enough to combine with all H+)
 Oxidation ½ reaction: Fe + 2H2O + 2OH-→ Fe(OH)2 + 2H+ + 2OH-

Combine H+ and OH-: Fe + 2H2O + 2OH-→ Fe(OH)2 + 2H2O

Cancel Extra H2O: Fe + 2OH-→ Fe(OH)2

Reduction ½ reaction: NiO2 + 2H++ 2OH- → Ni(OH)2 + 2OH-

Combine H+ and OH-: NiO2 + 2H2O→ Ni(OH)2 + 2OH-

Cancel Extra H2O: NiO2 + 2H2O→ Ni(OH)2 + 2OH-

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: Fe + 2OH-→ Fe(OH)2 + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: NiO2 + 2H2O + 2e¯ → Ni(OH)2 + 2OH-

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Not necessary! 2e¯ are already on either side!

Combine:

Oxidation ½ reaction: Fe + 2OH-→ Fe(OH)2 + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: + NiO2 + 2H2O + 2e¯ → Ni(OH)2 + 2OH-

Combined Balanced Equation: Fe + 2H2O +NiO2 → Ni(OH)2 + Fe(OH)2

3. 2MnO4¯ + 3CN¯ + H2O → 2MnO2 + 3CNO¯ + 2OH-

To balance elements (other than O and H): Insert coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: CN- → CNO-

Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4- → MnO2

To balance oxygens: Add water.

Oxidation ½ reaction: CN- + H2O → CNO-

Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4- → MnO2 + 2H2O

To balance hydrogens: Add H+.

Oxidation ½ reaction: CN- + H2O → CNO- + 2H+

Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4- + 4H+ → MnO2 + 2H2O

BUT it is a BASIC solution. Add OH- to BOTH sides (enough to combine with all H+)

Oxidation ½ reaction: CN- + H2O + 2OH- → CNO- + 2H+ + 2OH-

Combine H+ and OH-: CN- + H2O + 2OH- → CNO- + 2H2O

 Cancel Extra H2O: CN- + 2OH- → CNO- + H2O

Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4- + 4H+ + 4OH- → MnO2 + 2H2O + 4OH-

Combine H+ and OH-: MnO4- + 4H2O → MnO2 + 2H2O + 4OH-

Cancel Extra H2O: MnO4- + 2H2O → MnO2 + 4OH-

To balance charge: Add electrons.

Oxidation ½ reaction: CN- + 2OH- → CNO- + H2O + 2e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: MnO4- + 2H2O + 3e¯→ MnO2 + 4OH-

To balance electrons: Multiply by coefficients.

Oxidation ½ reaction: 3x(CN- + 2OH- → CNO- + H2O + 2e¯)

New Oxidation ½ reaction: 3CN- + 6OH- → 3CNO- + 3H2O + 6e¯

Reduction ½ reaction: 2x(MnO4- + 2H2O + 3e¯→ MnO2 + 4OH-)

New Reduction ½ reaction: 2MnO4- + 4H2O + 6e¯→ 2MnO2 + 8OH-

Combine: 3CN- + 6OH- → 3CNO- + 3H2O + 6e¯

+ 2MnO4- + 4H2O + 6e¯→ 2MnO2 + 8OH-

Combined Balanced Equation: 3CN- + 2MnO4- + H2O → 3CNO- + 2MnO2 + 2OH-

Summary
1. Assign oxidation numbers to all species.
2. Break reaction into to half-reactions: oxidation half-reaction and reduction half-
reaction
3. Balance all species EXCEPT HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN.
4. Balance OXYGEN by adding water to the necessary sides of the half-reactions.
5. Balance HYDROGEN by adding protons (H+) to the necessary sides
a. If in ACIDIC SOLUTION jump to step #6.
b. If in BASIC SOLUTION, add the exact same amount of hydroxides (OH¯) as
there are protons to both sides of the half-reaction. Collapse protons and
hydroxides that are on the same side of a half-reaction into water molecules
and simplify the number of water across the half-reaction.
6. Balance CHARGE by adding electrons to the half-reactions. Remember to multiply
the charges on a different species by the coefficients! Note that electrons are added
to the products side in the oxidation half-reaction and to the reactants side in the
reduction half-reaction. This should always be true.
7. Make the number of electrons in both half-reactions equal by multiplying by
coefficients.
8. Combine the two half-reactions. Combine any “like” terms and simplify!