Oxidation & Reduction
2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 2. Inorganic Chemistry → Reactivity Series
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Oxidation & reduction in terms of oxygen
When metals react with oxygen, the change can be given a name: oxidation covers any reaction in which a substance gains oxygen, and reduction is the reverse, in which oxygen is lost. In the displacement of copper from copper(II) oxide by zinc, zinc takes the oxygen, so the oxide is reduced while zinc is oxidised. Because one change cannot happen without the other, the pair is called a redox reaction.
What you know already
From Reactivity Series you already know that metals can be ranked by how readily they react, and that iron rusts by combining with oxygen. This note names the two halves of that kind of change: oxidation and reduction. It then shows the same reactions through electron transfer, using ionic and half equations.
Key points of understanding
- Oxidation covers every reaction in which a substance gains oxygen.
- Reduction is the opposite change, in which a substance loses oxygen.
- Oxidation and reduction always occur together, so the overall change is called a redox reaction.
- Copper(II) oxide is the oxidising agent because it supplies the oxygen for the change.
- Zinc acts as the reducing agent, removing that oxygen from copper(II) oxide.
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1.Oxidation & reduction in terms of oxygen
When metals react with oxygen, the change can be given a name: oxidation covers any reaction in which a substance gains oxygen, and reduction is the reverse, in which oxygen is lost. In the displacement of copper from copper(II) oxide by zinc, zinc takes the oxygen, so the oxide is reduced while zinc is oxidised. Because one change cannot happen without the other, the pair is called a redox reaction.
Key points
- Oxidation covers every reaction in which a substance gains oxygen.
- Reduction is the opposite change, in which a substance loses oxygen.
- Oxidation and reduction always occur together, so the overall change is called a redox reaction.
- Copper(II) oxide is the oxidising agent because it supplies the oxygen for the change.
- Zinc acts as the reducing agent, removing that oxygen from copper(II) oxide.
Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_sX8yyBxHn8bS7t46, pinned at 286b5ac81d43 · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources e967e75f1339
