REDOX

Burning Magnesium in air

Oxidation is gain of oxygen

▪ When magnesium reacts with oxygen in the air:

▪ 2Mg + O2 2MgO

▪ It is easy to see that the magnesium has gained

oxygen and an oxidation reaction has occurred.

▪ The magnesium has been OXIDISED.

Reduction of lead(II)oxide
Reduction is loss of oxygen

▪ When lead is extracted from lead (II) oxide ,

carbon is used to remove the oxygen

▪ 2PbO + C 2Pb + CO2

▪ The oxygen has been removed from the lead

(II) oxide

▪ The lead (II) oxide has been REDUCED.

Lets look at this further…

▪ What actually happens when the magnesium

joins with oxygen?

▪ The magnesium atom LOSES ELECTRONS

to become a magnesium ion

▪ We can write what happens like this:

▪ Mg Mg2+ + 2e-
Oxidation is loss of
electrons
▪ So, when magnesium takes part in an
oxidation reaction it loses electrons.

▪ When magnesium reacts with chlorine it also

loses electrons.

▪ Mg + Cl2 MgCl2

▪ This is an oxidation reaction too!

Reduction is gain of
electrons
▪ In the compound lead (II) oxide the lead is an
ion, Pb2+

▪ In order to form lead the Pb2+ ion has to GAIN

2 electrons

▪ We can write this as follows:

▪ Pb2+ + 2e- Pb
Redox

▪ You may have noticed that when the

magnesium loses its electrons they are gained
by the oxygen

▪ Oxidation (loss of electrons) and reduction

(gain of electrons) happen simultaneously.

▪ We call these REDOX reactions

 OILRIG
Oxidation
Is
Loss
Reduction
Is
Gain

(of electrons)
Oxidation Numbers

▪ When magnesium lost electrons it got more

POSITIVE

▪ Mg Mg2+ + 2e- (0 to +2)

▪ When lead gained electrons it became more

NEGATIVE

▪ Pb2+ + 2e- Pb (+2 to 0)

Oxidation Numbers
▪ For a reaction to be a redox reaction, different
reactants have to be oxidised or reduced.

▪ To identify these reactants, OXIDATION

NUMBERS are assigned to the reactants and
products

▪ These are also called OXIDATION STATES

Assigning oxidation numbers
Rule 1
▪ The oxidation number of an element is 0

▪ Zn + CuSO4 ZnSO4 + Cu

▪ The oxidation numbers of Zn and Cu in this

reaction are 0
Rule 2

▪ The oxidation number of a monatomic ion

equals the charge on the ion

▪ Mg + Cl2 MgCl2

▪ In this example the oxidation number of Mg2+

and Cl- are +2 and -1 respectively
Rule 3

▪ The oxidation number of oxygen is -2 (except

in certain compounds called peroxides)

▪ MgO Fe2O3 Na2O

▪ In each case the O2- ion is formed and the

oxidation number is +2
Rule 4

▪ The oxidation number of hydrogen is +1,

except in metal hydrides when it is -1

▪ H2O HCl

▪ In both cases hydrogen forms H+ ions and has

an oxidation number of +1

▪ In NaH is has an oxidation number of -1

Rule 5

▪ The oxidation number of fluorine is always -1

and the oxidation number of the other
halogens -1 (except for a few compounds)

▪ NaCl LiBr CaF2

▪ In each case the halide ion has a charge of -1

(e.g. Cl-) and the oxidation number is -1
Rule 6

▪ The oxidation number of the atoms in a

compound is zero

▪ The sum of the oxidation numbers of the

atoms in a polyatomic ion equals the charge in
the ion
Rule 6 Examples

▪ e.g. in the hydroxide ion (OH-) the oxidation

number of oxygen is -2 and the oxidation
number of hydrogen is +1

▪ -2 + (+1) = -1

▪ The overall charge on the hydroxide ion is -1

 Practice
1. What is the oxidation number of oxygen in O2?
2. What is the oxidation number of sodium in NaCl?
3. What is the oxidation number of iron in Fe2O3?
3. What is the oxidation number of chromium in CrO3?
4. What is the oxidation number of gallium in Ga(OH)3?
5. What is the oxidation number of phosphorous in
PO43-
6. What is the oxidation number of sulphur in H2SO4?
Recognising oxidation and
reduction in reactions
▪ Look at the equation
▪ Write out the oxidation numbers of the atoms
involved
▪ When the oxidation number of an atom
increases (gets more positive) oxidation has
occurred
▪ When the oxidation number of an atom
decreases (gets more negative) reduction has
occurred.
 Example
▪ H2 + Cl2 2HCl
▪ Hydrogen and chlorine both have oxidation numbers
of o in H2 and Cl2 as they are elements
▪ Hydrogen forms the H+ ion so has an oxidation
number of +1
▪ Chlorine forms the Cl- ion and has an oxidation
number of -1
▪ The oxidation number of hydrogen has changed from
0 to +1 so hydrogen has been oxidised
▪ The oxidation number of chlorine has changed from 0
to -1 so chlorine has been reduced
Now try these:

▪ In the reactions below, which element is being

oxidised and which reduced?

1. 2Ca + O2 2CaO
2. NaBr + Cl2 NaCl + Br2
3. 2Al + Fe2O3 2Fe + Al2O3
Oxidising and Reducing
Agents
▪ A substance which donates electrons easily
and causes another substance to be reduced is
called a REDUCING AGENT

▪ A substance which accepts electrons easily

and helps another substance to become
oxidised is called an OXIDISING AGENT

▪ Think of some examples for each!