
The two chlorine atoms, and we know that bondĬonsists of two electrons. State to each chlorine atom in the chlorine molecule. Sodium atoms drawn here, and that's just whatĮquation up here. Us an oxidation state equal to 0, which is what Has and subtracting from that how many electrons Oxidation states using this way because there are two ways Oxidizing and reducing agents, let's just go aheadĪnd talk about this one more time, except showingĪll of the valence electrons.

The oxidation state, and therefore, chlorine In oxidation state, so therefore, sodium, byĭefinition, is being oxidized.
#ANODE CATHODE OXIDIZING AND REDUCING AGENT PLUS#
Oxidation state of 0 to an oxidation state of plus 1. And for chloride anion,Ī negative 1 charge. Oxidation state to distinguish it from everything else On the ion is plus 1, that's also the oxidation state. A plus 1 charge on sodium,Īnd for monatomic ions, the oxidation state is equal For chlorine, eachĬhlorine atom is also an atom in its elemental form,Īnd therefore, each chlorine atom has an oxidation

And so the sodium atoms areĪtoms in their elemental form and therefore have an Oxidizing and reducing agents, you need to assign Identify the oxidizing and reducing agents However, I can't find any confirmation of this so hopefully a real chemist will give a better answer this question! Note that based on its placement in group 16 sulfur might prefer to be in a -2 oxidation state, which would suggest that sulfite can also act as an oxidizing agent in some circumstances. If sulfur goes from an oxidation state of +4 to +6 it is oxidizing and therefore can act as a reducing agent. (You can think of it "preferring" to "give up" two more electrons - though this isn't what actually happens.) Sulfur is "happier" (by the octet rule) if it has an oxidation state of +6. in sulfite SO3(2-) the oxidation state of sulfur is +4.

My understanding is that one thing to look for is whether the compound contains any elements in "extreme" or "less favorable" oxidation states - e.g. I know that this has been figured out empirically (by experiment), but I'm not confident about the theoretical basis.
