Sapling Question #2

[Jolie Sukonik 2B]

The oxidation state is ___ for the central metal atom in [CuCl2]-

How do I find the oxidation state for the central metal atom?

[Sunny Wu 3A]

Since Cl is a halogen, it has an oxidation state of -1. The overall charge of the compound is -1. So, the oxidation state of Cu plus the oxidation state of the two Cl =-1. Thus Cu has an oxidation state of +1.

[Lillian Ma 1I]

Since the oxidation number for Cl is -1 and there are 2 Cl and the overall charge is -1, you can solve for the oxidation number of Cu with the equation Cu + 2(-1) = -1 which would give you a +1 oxidation state for Cu.

[Leo Naylor 2F]

The oxidation state is the positive charge of the metal atom, so oxidation state + oxidation states of other atoms in the compound must equal overall charge of the compound. Since this compound has an overall charge of -1, and each chlorine atom has an oxidation state of -1, the oxidation state of copper must be +1.

[Gabe_Ek 1G]

Chloride is a halogen with an oxidation state of -1. The overall charge of the compound is also -1. Even if we aren't given the oxidation of Cu we can still solve to find out. It would be X + 2(-1) = -1, where X stands for Cu. When solved we get +1 and that's the oxidation state for the metal atom Cu.

[Ralph Zhang 2L]

You need to look at the total charge of the molecule and the individual charges of each atom. In this case the total charge is -1, with each Cl providing -1. For your part you need to sum up all the charges to get -1, and with that you can find the charge for Cu.

[Savannah Torella 1L]

The oxidation state is the sum of all of the charges. You already know that Cl has a -1 charge, and that there are two of them. Since the overall charge is -1, you can use the equation -1=(-2)+(Cu charge) in order to find the oxidation state for the central atom. You should get +1 as your answer.

[Justin Zhang_1A]

The overall charge of the compound is -1, and the charge of Cl is also -1. Since there are two chlorines, there is a -2 charge, so you would need an oxidation state of +1 for Cu to make the overall charge -1 for the compound.