Oxidation Number

[Amber_Candelaria_1D]

How do you determine the oxidation number of transition metals?

[MayaKhalil_1L]

The oxidation number is essentially the charge of the metal. So first you would need to calculate the charges of the other ligands in the complex and those charges plus the charges of the metal should add up to the total charge of the complex. For example, take [Fe(CN)5]2-, The charge of CN is 1-, and there are 5 so in total the charge is -5, but the charge of the complex is -2, so the charge of Fe must be 3+ in order for the charges to add up. Hope this helps!

[divya_devineni_2E]

Would we have to memorize the charges for all ligands?

[Amber_Candelaria_1D]

The oxidation number is essentially the charge of the metal. So first you would need to calculate the charges of the other ligands in the complex and those charges plus the charges of the metal should add up to the total charge of the complex. For example, take [Fe(CN)5]2-, The charge of CN is 1-, and there are 5 so in total the charge is -5, but the charge of the complex is -2, so the charge of Fe must be 3+ in order for the charges to add up. Hope this helps!

Thank you!!