Acidic/Basic Conditions

[Farah Abumeri 3F]

Can someone explain how to balance redox reactions according to basic or acidic conditions? Are there particular steps that we need to follow in a certain order?

[IsaacLaw1E]

The main difference between basic and acidic conditions is that basic ones will be balanced with OH-, and acidic ones will be balanced with H+.
To balance half reactions, you balance everything except oxygen and hydrogen, add H2O to balance the oxygen, and add H+ to balance the hydrogen.
If it were acidic, you would be done here. If it is basic, then you add OH- to both sides to neutralize the H+ and then cancel H2O from both sides.

[isha dis3d]

In order to balance a redox reaction, you would follow these steps:
1. Balance elements in the equation other than O and H.
2. Balance the oxygen atoms by adding H2O molecules to the opposite side of the equation.
3. Balance the hydrogen atoms by adding H+ ions.
4. Add up the charges on each side and make them equal by adding electrons to the more positive side.
5. The half-equations are added together, canceling out the electrons to form one balanced equation.

[Riddhi Mehta 2C]

To figure out basic conditions, you would essentially just follow the same steps as acidic conditions and add OH- to both sides to cancel out the H+ and turn them to water molecules. The steps outlined in the responses above are very helpful!