TouchTutor Series

Physical Sciences
Grade 11

Term 4

CHEMICAL CHANGE:
Types of Reactions
12 hours

LESSON 1: OXIDATION NUMBERS

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson you should ….

• understand what is meant by the term REDOX

• understand and be able to explain the terms

OXIDATION and REDUCTION

• know what the OXIDATION NUMBER of an atom is

• be able to ASSIGN oxidation numbers

• know where the term oxidation originally comes

from.
Redox Reactions
The word REDOX is an acronym for reduction / oxidation.
Oxidation is the process wherein an atom loses an electron,
while reduction implies a gain of electrons.
This is very important to remember, and the easiest way is via
the following mnemonic:
where OIL stands for oxidation is loss
and RIG means reduction is gain OIL RIG
– always of electrons of course.
A redox reaction involves an ex-
change or transfer of electrons
from one molecule, atom or ion, to another.
In order to deal successfully with redox reactions, it is important
to be able to assign OXIDATION NUMBERS – the charge an atom
would have in a compound composed of ions – to the elements
in a molecule or ion.
Rules for Assigning Oxidation Numbers
To determine the oxidation number of an element in a com-
pound, follow these RULES. NB! They form a hierarchy, i.e.
Rule 1 comes before Rule 2, and Rule 2 before Rule 3, etc.

RULE 1: The oxidation number for any element is zero / the sum
of all oxidation numbers in a neutral molecule is zero / for an
ion, the sum of oxidation numbers = charge on the ion.
• the oxidation number for Cu2+ is 2 (it has lost 2 electrons), and for Cl– is –1
(since it has gained 1 electron)
• the sum of oxidation numbers of all atoms in KMnO4 is zero, since it is a neutral
molecule; likewise for the nitrogen (N2) molecule
• with the oxidation number of N2 equal to zero, the oxidation number for N
must necessarily also be equal to zero – only 2 × 0 = 0
• the oxidation numbers for He, Ne, Cu, Al, C, must all be zero – these are
elements and have neither lost nor gained electrons
 Rules 2 …
RULE 2: Fluorine has an oxidation number of -1
RULE 3: The metals of group 1,2 or 3 have an oxidation number
of +1, +2, +3 respectively.
• the oxidation number for Na is +1, and for Ca is +2, for Al is +3.
RULE 4: Hydrogen has an oxidation number of +1 when
combined with elements on the right side of the periodic chart
(non-metals) and a -1 when combined with elements on the
left side of the periodic chart (metals).
• in HF, fluorine has a oxidation number of -1 (Rule 2), the sum of
oxidation numbers must be zero (Rule 1), and therefore the oxidation
number of H in HF is +1.
• in H2, H has the oxidation number zero
• in NaH, Na has the oxidation number +1 (Rule 3), the sum of all
oxidation numbers must be zero, thus H has an oxidation number -1.
RULE 5: Oxygen has an oxidation number of -2
• in H2O, hydrogen has an oxidation number of +1, oxygen of -2
 Rule 6 / Example a)
• in F2O, fluorine has an oxidation number of -1 (Rule 2), the sum of all
oxidation numbers is zero, thus the oxidation number of oxygen must
be +2 (Rule 2 takes precedence over Rule 5)
• in H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), the oxidation number of H is +1 (Rule 4),
the sum is zero (Rule 1), thus oxygen must be –1
RULE 6: Group 17 atoms have an oxidation number of -1;
Group 16 atoms have an oxidation number of -2; Group 15
atoms have an oxidation number of -3.
• Note: Chlorine, in Group 17, usually has an oxidation
number of -1, but in combination with fluorine or oxygen,
Rules 2 and 5 take precedence.

EXAMPLES:
Calculate the oxidation number of each kind of atom in the
following: a) SO2 b) CO32- c) Na2SO4 d) (NH4)2S
a) SO2 – each oxygen has an oxidation number of -2 (Rule 5)
 Examples b) and c)
• the sum of all oxidation numbers of atoms in a neutral
compound is zero (Rule 1)
• then the oxidation number of sulfur (S) must be +4,
because +4 + (2 × (-2)) = 0
b) CO32-
• the sum of all oxidation numbers in an ion must equal the
charge of the ions, i.e. -2 (Rule 1)
• The oxidation number of oxygen is -2 (Rule 5)
• then carbon has an oxidation number of +4, since
+4 + (3 × (-2)) = -2
c) Na2SO4
• sum of oxidation numbers must be equal to zero (Rule 1)
• Na has an oxidation number of +1 (Rule 3)
• O has an oxidation number of -2 (Rule 5)
• then oxidation number of S = +6 [2(+1)+6+(4×(-2)) = 0
 Class Exercise 1/1
d) (NH4)2S
• NH4+ is an ion, with +1 charge. Oxidation numbers are:
H(+1), N(-3), since –3 + (4 × (+1)) = +1
• S(–2), since (2 × (+1)) + (–2) = 0

CLASS EXERCISE 1/1

1) Determine the oxidation number of each element in the
following compounds:
a) S2O3 S:+3; O: -2 c) P2O5 P:+5; O: -2
b) Na2O2 Na:+1; O: -1 d) NO3- N:+5; O: -2
2) Determine the oxidation number of chlorine in …
a) KClO3 +5 c) Ca(ClO4)2 +7
b) Cl2 0 d) Cl2O +1
3) 2KNO3(s) → 2KNO2(s) + O2(g). Identify the atoms that are
oxidised, and those that are reduced.
 Class Exercise 1/2
2KNO3 → 2KNO2 + O2
Oxidation numbers: +1 +5 -2 +1 +3 -2 0

reduction oxidation

4) Potassium chromate (K2CrO4) and potassium dichromate

(K2Cr2O7) each have a chromium-containing polyatomic ion.
What is the oxidation number of chromium in each?
K2CrO4: Cr = +6 K2Cr2O7: Cr = +6
5) Use the changes in oxidation numbers to identify which
atoms are oxidised, and which reduced, in this reaction …
2 H N O 3 + 6 H I → 2 N O + 3 I 2 + 4 H 2O
Oxd. #s +1 +5 -2 +1 -1 +2 -2 0 +1 -2
Nitrogen (N) is reduced from +5 to +2, while I is oxidised
from -1 to 0. HNO3 is the oxidising agent, HI the reducing
agent.
Where the oxidation number of an element / atom
increases, oxidation takes place.
Where the oxidation number of an element / atom
decreases, reduction takes place.
 Class Exercise 1/3
6) How is a change in oxidation number related to the process
of oxidation and reduction?
An increase in oxidation number indicates oxidation, a
decrease in oxidation number indicates reduction.
7) Assign oxidation numbers to the atoms underlined.
a) NaCl +1 k) N2O4 +4
b) N2 0 l) KMnO4 +7
c) CO2 +4 m) CH4 -4
d) CuCO3 +2 m) NH3 -3
e) FeClO3 +1 o) MnCrO4 +1
f) AlN -3 p) Mn3(PO4)2 +2
g) NaF -1 q) KSCN +4
h) PF5 +5 r) P4O6 +3
i) LiBF4 +3 s) H4P2O7 -5
j) HCN +2 t) CaC2 -1
Some Context
Antoine Lavoisier discovered that when a com-
pound burns in air, its mass increases. Clearly,
combustion must extract something from the air,
and he named this substance oxygen.
His oxygen theory of combustion was eventually
accepted, and chemists began to refer to any
reaction between an element or compound and
oxygen as OXIDATION, e.g.:
the oxidation of calcium: 2Ca(s) + O2(g) → 2CaO(s)
or the combustion of methane:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
– though here both carbon and hydrogen seem to be oxidised
(gaining oxygen).
Such anomalies lead chemists to investigate the process
further, recognising that all oxidation reactions had one thing in
Oxidation - Reduction
common – they always involved a loss of electrons.
The element / compound that had to gain these electrons (e–
cannot just exist in isolation) was said to undergo reduction,
e.g.: 2Ca(s) + O2(g) → 2[Ca2+][O2-](s)
oxidation reduction

Hence the concept of the REDOX REACTION – involving a

transfer of electrons between reacting substances that may or
may not include oxygen.
 Key Concepts 1
A REDOX REACTION is one in which one element is oxidised, and
another is reduced. This is essentially an exchange or transfer
of electrons.
• OXIDATION is the Loss of one or more electrons by a
molecule, atom or ion.
• REDUCTION is the Gain of electrons by a molecule, atom or
ion.
(Remember the mnemonic: OIL RIG)
By definition, the oxidation number of an atom is the charge that
atom would have if the compound was composed of ions.
Oxidation numbers may be assigned to atoms in a compound
by following various rules. These rules form a hierarchy – i.e.
Rule 1 always takes precedence over Rule 2, Rule 3 over Rule
4 and 5, etc.
 Key Concepts 2
Rule 0: The following rules are in the form of a hierarchy; that is, the first
stated rule takes precedence over subsequent rules if a conflict arises.
Rule 1: The oxidation numbers for all the atoms in a neutral molecule must
add up to 0.
Similarly, the oxidation numbers for all the atoms of an ion must add up to
the charge of the ion.
Rule 2: Fluorine has an oxidation number of -1
Rule 3: The metals of group 1 have an oxidation number of +1
The metals of group 2 have an oxidation number of +2
Sc, Y and Al have an oxidation number of +3.
Rule 4: Hydrogen has an oxidation number of +1 when combined with
elements on the right side of the periodic chart (non-metals) and a -1 when
combined with elements on the left side of the periodic chart (metals).
Rule 5: Oxygen has an oxidation number of -2
Rule 6, 7, 8: Group 17 atoms have an oxidation number of -1; Group 16
atoms have an oxidation number of -2; Group 15 atoms have an oxidation
number of -3.