Addition of H3O+ or OH-
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Addition of H3O+ or OH-
How can we tell when to add H3O+ or OH- when balancing half reactions, and how do we know what side of the equation to add it to?
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Re: Addition of H3O+ or OH-
You add H+ to reactions in acidic solutions and OH- to reactions in basic solutions. For H+ you add the ion to the oxidizing agent, and for the OH- ion you add it to the reducing agent. From there you make sure they are on opposite sides of the half-reactions so that they will cancel out when adding the two half-reactions to complete the cell.
Re: Addition of H3O+ or OH-
I think you might be confusing what to add at what point. You add H2O in order to balance out the number of O in a reaction and you either add H+ or OH- depending on what type of solution you're working with and as previously mentioned you do H for acidic solutions and OH of basic ones.
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Re: Addition of H3O+ or OH-
Usually, the question should tell you whether the reactions are occurring in a basic or acidic environment.
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