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  • Redox

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    GrahamCampbell
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    The document discusses the oxidation states in the compound (NH4)3PO4. It states that the compound is ionic, consisting of NH4+ and PO43- ions that can be treated separately to determine the oxidation states of each element. By considering the ions independently and applying the normal rules, the oxidation states are N: -3, H: +1, P: +5, O: -2. Splitting the compound into its constituent ions in this way is necessary to correctly determine all the oxidation states, rather than becoming stuck if trying to assign them while considering the whole compound.

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    Redox

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    The document discusses the oxidation states in the compound (NH4)3PO4. It states that the compound is ionic, consisting of NH4+ and PO43- ions that can be treated separately to determine the oxidation states of each element. By considering the ions independently and applying the normal rules, the oxidation states are N: -3, H: +1, P: +5, O: -2. Splitting the compound into its constituent ions in this way is necessary to correctly determine all the oxidation states, rather than becoming stuck if trying to assign them while considering the whole compound.

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    23 views1 page

    Redox

    Uploaded by

    GrahamCampbell
    The document discusses the oxidation states in the compound (NH4)3PO4. It states that the compound is ionic, consisting of NH4+ and PO43- ions that can be treated separately to determine the oxidation states of each element. By considering the ions independently and applying the normal rules, the oxidation states are N: -3, H: +1, P: +5, O: -2. Splitting the compound into its constituent ions in this way is necessary to correctly determine all the oxidation states, rather than becoming stuck if trying to assign them while considering the whole compound.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 1

    Just going through some oxidation states and found a potentially more difficult one:

    (NH
    4
    )
    3
    PO
    4


    I assume the way to work out oxidation states is to think about how it's bonded. It must be ionic.
    Then think about the ions: we must have NH
    4
    +
    and PO
    4
    3-
    . Then we can just treat the two ions
    separately and follow the normal rules, leading to:

    N: -3
    H: +1
    P: +5
    O: -2

    If we don't split it up in this way, we cannot reach this point because we will become stuck after
    looking at the most electronegative, then the most electropositive, because there will be still 2
    elements left. We'd be able to put the correct oxidation states on the O and the H, and then not be
    able to continue (and even then, it would have been just luck that made H was correct anyway).

    Am I right here?

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