Question

What are the respective central-metal oxidation state, coordination number, and overall charge on the complex ion in Na2[Cr(NH3)2(NCS)4]?

A) +3; 6; -1
B) +2; 6; -2
C) +1; 6; -2
D) +3; 6; +1

Answer 1

B) +2; 6; -2

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to know what the coordination number is, all we need to do is to count the number of ligands present in the coordination sphere. Coordination number refers to the number of ligands in the coordination sphere of a given complex. The coordination number here is 6.

The counter ion here is 2Na+. It means that the overall charge on the complex must be -2 because the magnitude of charge on the complex ion is exactly balanced by the number of counter ions.

The charge on the metal (x) must now be;

x + 0 + 4(-1) = -2

x - 4 = -2

x = -2 + 4

x = +2

Note that NH3 is designated as zero because it is a neutral molecule. Each NCS^- ion has a charge magnitude of -1.