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Chemistry 15 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

Which process is an oxidation? A] 2 H+(aq) + CO32-(aq) H2O(l) + CO2(g) B]Fe3+(aq) Fe2+(aq) C]2 CrO42-(aq) + 2 H+(aq) Cr2O72-(aq) + H2O(l) D]Ba2+(aq) + CrO42-(aq) BaCrO4(s) E]MnO2(s) MnO4-(aq

OpenStudy (anonymous):

B

OpenStudy (anonymous):

sorry, it's E

OpenStudy (shadowfiend):

Could you explain why? :)

OpenStudy (anonymous):

it's been a while since I last solved such questions >_< I would love to explain it, but my memory is unfortuantely failing me

OpenStudy (anonymous):

The problem has to do with oxidation states of the matter. The oxidation state of oxygen will always be -2 with the exception of peroxides which will have a state of -1. The overall balanced state of chemical compounds will be 0, so the oxidation state of Mn in MnO2 will be +4. The oxidation state of MnO4- will then be +7 to balance out to the negative one charge. The state change from +4 to +7 is 3, thus three electrons have to be lost in order for this to happen; a loss of a charge of -3 results in an increase of charge of 3. Oxidation is always the process of 'losing' electrons.

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Good reply Furiouslyfapping. You have to look for a change in oxidation number of the main elements in the half reaction. You should know how to calculate the oxidation number of the elements in a compound first. The Fe3+ to Fe 2+ is a simple one. You can see the Ox number of Fe has changed from +3 to +2 and is therefore a reduction half reaction. This is a redox half reaction.

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