Question

Identify the species oxidized, the species reduced, the oxidizing agent and the reducing agent in the following electron transfer reaction.

Hg2+ + MnArrow.gif Hg + Mn2+
species oxidized species reduced
oxidizing agent reducing agent
As the reaction proceeds, electrons are transferred from to .

Answer 1

Oxidized and reducing agent: manganese.

Reduced and oxidizing agent: mercury.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hello!

In this case, for the reaction:

`Hg^(2+)(aq) + Mn^0(s)\rightarrow Hg(s) + Mn^(2+)(aq)`

We keep in mind that the species that increase the oxidation state is the oxidized one whereas the one that decrease the oxidation state is the reduced one; therefore manganese is the oxidized one as well as the reducing agent because it goes from 0 to +2 and mercury the reduced one as well as the oxidizing agent because it goes from 2+ to 0.

Best regards