Oxidation – Reduction Reactions

Review of the Octet Rule

 Atoms want 8 electrons in the valence shell
 Ionic bonds transfer electrons from one
atom to another atom
 Atoms form a charged ion and a complete
octet
 Oxidation numbers show if electrons are
gained or lost
Assigning Oxidation States
Basic Rules (MEMORIZE)!
 Uncombined elements have an oxidation state of zero
 Monatomic ions (one atom ions) have an oxidation state
equal to its ionic charge
 Group 1 Alkali Metals +1
 Group 2 Alkaline Earth Metals +2
 Group 17 halogens –1
 Hydrogen is +1 when bonding with nonmetals
 Sum of oxidation states is equal to zero for a compound
 Polyatomic ions retain a charge after the summing of
oxidation states
Oxidation Numbers
 Used to tell how many electrons have been
gained or lost
 Can be negative, positive or neutral(zero)
 Located on the Periodic Table
 Increase – oxidation
 Decrease – reduction
Oxidation and Reduction
Introduction
 Originally:
 Used to describe reactions that added and
reduced oxygen during reactions
 Today:
 Still describes adding and removing oxygen
 Oxidation also describes atoms that lose
electrons (OIL)
 Reduction also describes atoms that gain
electrons (RIG)
Oxidation
When a substance loses one or more electrons
 Oxidation Loses electrons (OIL)
 Is said to be “oxidized”
Ex: Magnesium (s) is burned in
oxygen (g)
Mg(s) + O2 (g) MgO
The Mg is oxidized by losing 2 electrons
Reduction
When a substance gains one or more electrons
 Reduction Gains electrons (RIG)
 Is said to be “reduced”
Ex: Magnesium (s) is burned in
oxygen (g)
Mg(s) + O2 (g) MgO
The O is reduced by gaining 2 electrons
Redox Reaction
Oxidation – Reduction reaction (REDOX):

Oxidized atoms
Increase in oxidation state
Reduce the other atom
Reduced atoms
Decrease in oxidation state
Oxidize the other atom
Determining Redox Reactions
NOT all reactions are redox reactions!
 Assign oxidation numbers to each atom
 Check if the oxidation states change
 Synthesis, single replacement and
decomposition reactions can be redox
reactions
 Double replacement reactions may not be
redox reactions
Identifying Redox Reactions
1. Assign oxidation numbers
+4 -2 +1 -1 +2 -1 0 +1 -2
MnO2 + 4HCl MnCl2 + Cl2 + 2H2O

2. Look at oxidation states

Mg goes from +4 to +2 it gained 2 electrons (REDUCED
and is the oxidizing agent) RIG
Cl goes from –1 to 0 it lost 1 electron (OXIDIZED and is
the reducing agent) OIL
Half Reactions
 Can be used to balance redox reactions
 Splits up the reaction into the oxidized
reaction and the reduced reaction
 Reduction Reaction (RIG)
Ex: Fe+3(aq) + 3e- Fe(s)
 Oxidation (OIL)
Ex: Fe(s) Fe+3(aq) + 3e-
How to Write Half Reactions
1. Assign oxidation numbers
2. Write partial half reaction to show change
in oxidation state
3. Show the number of electrons needed to
change the oxidation state
4. Check for the conservation of charge
To Balance Redox Reactions
1. Assign Oxidation Numbers
2. Identify Oxidized and Reduced elements
3. Write the half reactions
4. Multiply each half reaction to balance the
number of electrons lost and gained
5. Add the 2 balanced half reactions eliminating
the electrons
6. Insert the coefficients into the original equation
7. Balance the rest of the reaction by inspection
Balancing Example
0 +1 +5 -2 +1 +5 -2 +2 -2 +1 -2

1. Cu + HNO3 Cu(NO3)2 + NO + H2O

2. Cu is oxidized 0 to +2
N is reduced +5 to +2
3. Cu Cu2+ + 2e- (Oxidation Half reaction) N+5
+ 3e- N+2 (Reduction Half Reaction)
4. 3 (Cu Cu2+ + 2e-) = 3Cu 3Cu2+ + 6e-
2 (N+5 + 3e- N+2) = 2N+5 + 6e- 2N+2
Continued
6. 3Cu 3Cu2+ + 6e-
+ 2N+5 + 6e- 2N+2
3Cu + 2N+5
3Cu2+ + 2N+2
7. 3Cu + 2HNO3 3Cu(NO3)2 + 2NO + H2O
8. 3Cu + 8HNO3 3Cu(NO3)2 + 2NO + 4H2O
Activity Series
Table J
 Shows reactivity of metals and nonmetals
 Elements at the top are most reactive
 Decreases in activity as you go down the
table
 Element above in the table is more reactive
than the element below it
Electrochemical Cells
 Redox reactions provide useful electrical
energy in batteries.
 Simple electrochemical cells can be made
from Cu and Zn metals with solutions of
their sulfates.
 Electrons are transferred from the zinc to
the copper through an electrically
conducting path
Basic Electrochemical Cell

http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa082003a.htm
Electrolytic Cell
 Created with metallic electrodes placed in
an electrolyte
 Uses or generates an electric current.
 Forms batteries with one or more cells.
 Needs an externally supplied electric
current to drive a chemical reaction
 Is not spontaneous
 Voltaic Cell
 Two surfaces called electrodes that are made of
metal (Cu and Zn) where oxidation and reduction
occur
 anode for oxidation
 cathode for reduction
 Salt Bridge contains an electrolytic solution to
allow ions to pass to complete the circuit
 Connecting Wire connects the electrodes for the
transfer of electrons.