Chemistry 1

Volume 4

Worksheet 1
What is Oxidation and Reduction?

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1. What are the two processes that occur during a redox reaction?

2. Which particle is gained and lost during a redox process?

a. Proton
b. Neutron
c. Electron
d. Positron

3. Which of the following correctly describes oxidation?

a. An atom has the same number of electrons
b. An atom gains an electron
c. An atom loses an electron
d. An atom loses a proton

4. Which of the following correctly describes a reduction process?

a. An atom has the same number of electrons
b. An atom loses an electron
c. An atom gains an electron
d. An atom grains a proton

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5. Identify the oxidation number of the elements in the following compounds.

a. MgBr2 b. CuSO4 c. NaCl

6. Consider the reaction below for the questions that follow:

4 Al (s) + 3 O2 (g) à 2 Al2O3 (s)

a. Which element loses electrons in Al2O3?

b. Which element gains electrons in Al2O3?

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7. In the following reaction, identify which chemical in the reactants is oxidized and which is
reduced.
Si (s) + 2 F2 (g) à SiF4 (s)

8. In the following reaction, identify which chemical in the reactants is oxidized and which is
reduced.

Cl2 (g) + 2 NaBr (s) à 2 NaCl (s) + Br2 (g)

9. Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents in the following reaction.

Mg (s) + 2 HCl (g) à MgCl2 (s) + H2 (g)

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10. Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents in the following reaction.
4 Fe (s) + 3 O2 (g) à 2 Fe2O3 (s)

11. Challenge: Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents in the following reaction.

2 Na (s) + 2 H2O (l) à 2 NaOH (s) + H2 (g)

12. Which substance is reduced, and which is oxidized in the following reaction?
Cu (s) + 2 Ag+ (aq) à Cu2+ (s) + 2 Ag (s)

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 Answer Key
1. What are the two processes that occur during a redox reaction?
The name “redox” gains its name from the two processes that occur: reduction and
oxidation. Reduction occurs when an atom gains electrons, and oxidation is when an
atom loses electrons.
Correct answer: Reduction and oxidation.

2. Which particle is gained and lost during a redox process?

a. Proton
b. Neutron
c. Electron
d. Positron

Redox processes involve the transfer of electrons from one atom to another.

Correct answer: c. Electron

3. Which of the following correctly describes oxidation?

a. An atom has the same number of electrons
b. An atom gains an electron
c. An atom loses an electron
d. An atom loses a proton
During oxidation, an atom loses an electron which is transferred to another atom.
Correct answer: c. An atom loses an electron

4. Which of the following correctly describes a reduction process?

a. An atom has the same number of electrons
b. An atom loses an electron
c. An atom gains an electron
d. An atom grains a proton

During reduction, an atom gains an electron. The electron is obtained from the atom
that has been oxidized.

Correct answer: c. An atom gains an electron

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5. Identify the oxidation number of the elements in the following compounds.

a. MgBr2 b. CuSO4 c. NaCl

Correct answers:
Mg2+ and Br- Cu2+, S6+, and O2- Na+ and Cl-

6. Consider the reaction below for the questions that follow:

4 Al (s) + 3 O2 (g) à 2 Al2O3 (s)
a. Which element loses electrons in Al2O3?

The charge on any metal in its natural state as a solid is always 0, so the charge
on Al in the reactants is 0, written as Al0. Oxygen is in a similar situation. Since it
is bonded to itself, it has a charge of 0, written as O0.

In the products, break apart Al2O3 into its two ions to determine their oxidation
numbers.

Al2O3 à Al3+ and O2-

Aluminum: Al0 à Al3+
Oxygen: O0 à O2-

Al goes from a neutral state (Al0) to a positive state (Al3+), and it has lost three
electrons to do this.

Correct answer: Al has lost electrons.

b. Which element gains electrons in Al2O3?

Continuing from the explanation in part a, oxygen has gone from a neutral state
(O0) to a negative state (O2-), which means that it has gained two electrons.

Correct answer: O has gained electrons

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7. In the following reaction, identify which atom in the reactants is oxidized and which is
reduced.
Si (s) + 2 F2 (g) à SiF4 (s)
Since Si is in its elemental form (a solid), it is neutral (has no charge), so it can be written
as Si0.
Similarly, F2 is in its elemental form (a diatomic molecule) and also has no charge (F0).
Break apart SiF4 to determine the charges on each of the elements. We know that F
always has a 1- charge, so it can be written as F-. There are four F, so that means it
contributes a total of 4- to the SiF4.
To form a neutral molecule, that means the Si needs to have a 4+ charge to balance the
4 negative charges of the F-.
Si went from: Si0 to Si4+. Since it became more positive, it lost electrons, meaning it was
oxidized.
F went from F0 to F-, meaning it gained electrons to become more negative. When an
atom gains electrons, the process is called reduction.
Correct answer: Oxidized: Si0 to Si4+
Reduced: F0 to F1-

8. In the following reaction, identify which chemical in the reactants is oxidized and which is
reduced.

Cl2 (g) + 2 NaBr (s) à 2 NaCl (s) + Br2 (g)

There are three different atoms in the reaction above, so it is necessary to determine
the oxidation number of each atom.
Cl in Cl2 has a neutral oxidation state since Cl2 naturally exists as a diatomic molecule.
NaBr consists of Na+ and Br-.
NaCl consists of Na+ and Cl-.
Br2 (similar to Cl2) has a neutral oxidation state for Br since Br2 is the naturally-occurring
form of bromine.
Br has a charge of 1- in NaBr and a neutral charge in Br2 since Br2 is its elemental form.
Correct answer: Oxidized: Br1- to Br0
Reduced: Cl0 to Cl1-

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9. Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents in the following reaction.
Mg (s) + 2 HCl (g) à MgCl2 (s) + H2 (g)
Mg goes from a neutral state (Mg0) to a more positive state (Mg2+), so it has lost two
electrons and been oxidized. This means it is the reducing agent.
H has gone from H+ to H0, which means it has gained an electron (going from positive to
neutral requires one electron). This means it has been reduced and is the oxidizing
agent.

Correct answer: Reducing agent: Mg0 was oxidized to Mg2+

Oxidizing agent: H+ was reduced to H0

10. Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents in the following reaction.

4 Fe (s) + 3 O2 (g) à 2 Fe2O3 (s)

The O in O2 has no charge. It goes from O0 to O2-, so it has gained two electrons and
been reduced. This makes it the oxidizing agent.
The Fe also starts out with a neutral charge and goes from Fe0 to Fe3+. It has lost three
electrons to do this and been oxidized. This makes it the reducing agent.
Correct answer: Oxidizing agent: O0 was reduced to O2-
Reducing agent: Fe0 was oxidized to Fe3+

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11. Challenge: Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents in the following reaction.

2 Na (s) + 2 H2O (l) à 2 NaOH (s) + H2 (g)

Once again, there are three different atoms (Na, H, and O). However, H appears twice in
the products side.
Let’s determine the oxidation states of all the atoms.
Na has a charge of 0.
H2O: Hydrogen always has a 1+ charge, and oxygen has a 2-.
NaOH: Na always has a 1+ charge, O has a 2- charge, and H has a 1+ charge.
H2: H has a 0 charge since this is its elemental form.

So, we need to determine which atoms changed their oxidation states in the reaction.
Na went from Na0 to Na+, H went from H+ to H0, and O stayed O2- the whole reaction.
H has gone from H+ to H0 (in H2), which means it has gained an electron and been
reduced.
Correct answer: Oxidizing agent: H1+ was reduced to H0 (in H2)
Reducing agent: Na0 was oxidized to Na1+

12. Which substance is reduced, and which is oxidized in the following reaction?
Cu (s) + 2 Ag+ (aq) à Cu2+ (s) + 2 Ag (s)
Ag+ has been transformed into Ag0. By going from a positive to a neutral state, it has
gained an electron and been reduced.
Cu0 has been transformed into Cu2+. Since it has gone from a neutral state to a positive
state, it has lost two electrons and been oxidized.

Correct answer: Reduced: Ag+; Oxidized: Cu0

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