Final answer:
The balanced half-reaction describing the oxidation of aqueous vanadium(I) to vanadium(V) is V+(aq) → V5+(aq) + 4e-. The process was balanced by following the systematic method of half-reactions without the need to balance oxygen or hydrogen, only the electrical charge.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer the question of writing a balanced half-reaction describing the oxidation of aqueous vanadium(I) cations to aqueous vanadium(V) cations, we follow the method of half-reactions.
- First, write the skeletal equation for the oxidation process:
- V+ (aq) → V5+ (aq)
- Balance all elements except for oxygen and hydrogen (already balanced).
- Balance the oxygen atoms using H2O. In this case, there is no need since there are no oxygen atoms in the process.
- Balance hydrogen atoms by adding H+ ions, if required. Here, no hydrogen atoms are present to balance.
- Finally, balance the charge by adding electrons. In this step, we require four electrons to go on the left side to balance the increase in oxidation state from +1 to +5:
- V+ (aq) → V5+ (aq) + 4e-
- This gives us the balanced half-reaction for the oxidation of vanadium(I) to vanadium(V) in an aqueous solution.