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Potassium, a silvery metal, reacts with bromine, a corrosive, reddish liquid, to yield potassium bromide, a white solid. Write the balanced equation, and identify the oxidizing and reducing agents.
16. Oxidation and Reduction
Redox Reactions
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Which element is oxidized and which is reduced in the following reaction?
Hg (aq) + HgCl2 (aq) → Hg2Cl2
A
Hg in Hg(aq):oxidized; Cl in HgCl2(aq):reduced
B
Hg in Hg(aq):reduced; Cl in HgCl2(aq):oxidized
C
Hg in Hg(aq):oxidized; Hg in HgCl2(aq):reduced
D
Hg in Hg(aq):reduced; Hg in HgCl2(aq):oxidized
Verified step by step guidance1
Identify the oxidation states of the elements in the reactants and products. For mercury (Hg) in Hg(aq), the oxidation state is 0 because it is in its elemental form.
In HgCl2(aq), mercury (Hg) is in the +2 oxidation state because each chlorine (Cl) has a -1 oxidation state and the compound is neutral.
In the product Hg2Cl2, each mercury (Hg) atom has an oxidation state of +1. This is because the compound is neutral and each chlorine (Cl) still has a -1 oxidation state.
Determine which element is oxidized and which is reduced by comparing the changes in oxidation states. Oxidation involves an increase in oxidation state, while reduction involves a decrease.
Hg in Hg(aq) goes from 0 to +1, indicating it is oxidized. Hg in HgCl2 goes from +2 to +1, indicating it is reduced. Therefore, Hg in Hg(aq) is oxidized and Hg in HgCl2 is reduced.
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