oxidation

[204929947]

Hello, I was just wondering why is it that some elements have oxidation states - or +? Also, why is it that both - and + can exist for the same element?

[Maria Trujillo 1L]

So when you are dealing with oxidation states, you will generally have a + or -, because almost any element can have e- added or taken away in order to get to the nearest noble gas configuration. The goal is to get an octet. An example from chapter 3 HW is 3.23, Cl can have -1 or +7. This is because if you add one e- you will reach the noble gas Ar and if you subtract 7 e- you will reach the noble gas Ne configuration. I hope this helps.

[Myles Chang 1B]

In general, elements closer to the left side of the periodic table (s-block and some of p-block) form cations because it is easier for them to lose, for example, 2 electrons in the case of Mg rather than gain 6. Likewise, it would require a lot of energy to pull 7 valence electrons away from a chlorine atom to give it noble gas configuration, so it is very electronegative and tends to gain an electron.

[princessturner1G]

So when you are dealing with oxidation states, you will generally have a + or -, because almost any element can have e- added or taken away in order to get to the nearest noble gas configuration. The goal is to get an octet. An example from chapter 3 HW is 3.23, Cl can have -1 or +7. This is because if you add one e- you will reach the noble gas Ar and if you subtract 7 e- you will reach the noble gas Ne configuration. I hope this helps.

Is the main goal of oxidation to reach a noble gas configuration?

[105012653 1F]

Sorry, I'm kind of confused; what exactly is an oxidation state?

[Maria Trujillo 1L]

Sorry, I'm kind of confused; what exactly is an oxidation state?

Oxidation state is the same as the charge given to an element when it is by itself.

[Maria Trujillo 1L]

So when you are dealing with oxidation states, you will generally have a + or -, because almost any element can have e- added or taken away in order to get to the nearest noble gas configuration. The goal is to get an octet. An example from chapter 3 HW is 3.23, Cl can have -1 or +7. This is because if you add one e- you will reach the noble gas Ar and if you subtract 7 e- you will reach the noble gas Ne configuration. I hope this helps.

Is the main goal of oxidation to reach a noble gas configuration?

Oxidation state, I believe, is just the state of the element of how many electrons it needs to lose or gain to get to the sate of a noble gas. So to answer your question, yes, I believe so.

[Surya Palavali 1D]

The + denotes losing an electron, the - denotes gaining one.