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Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:01 pm
by MCracchiolo 1C
Do elements have oxidation numbers when it's just, for example, O2 or O3?
Re: Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 7:03 pm
by Wayland Leung
Yea O2 has oxidation number of 2- for each oxygen.
Re: Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 7:40 pm
by MCracchiolo 1C
Even if the overall charge is neutral?
Re: Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:13 pm
by aTirumalai-1I
I think O2 has an oxidation number of 0 because it is in its elemental form. This is the same case for other elemental forms such as H2 or Fe.
Re: Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:50 pm
by AnuPanneerselvam1H
Oxidation number of an atom in a neutral compound is zero when the substance contains only one element. So O2 and O3 would have an overall charge of zero.
Re: Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:32 am
by Guangyu Li 2J
The oxidation state of oxygen element such as O2, P4, S8 is zero (0).
The oxidation state of oxygen in its compounds is usually -2, except for compounds like H2O2, and Na2O2, in which the oxidation state for O is -1.
Re: Oxidation Numbers
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:55 am
by Jessica Nunez 1I
As mentioned, the oxidation state of oxygen as a diatomic molecule (O2) is zero. However, when oxygen is in a compound, the charge varies between -1 and -2.