Question

What’s the differences between oxidation and reduction reactions in terms of electrons. What is the balanced oxidation and reduction equations for the reactions taking place, given that copper ions have the formula Cu2+ and iron ions have the formula Fe2+.The chemist used a solution of copper sulfate (CuSo4) with a concentration of 0.00095 mol/l

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

Let's review the concepts of oxidation and reduction:

Oxidation refers to the electron loss of an atom or compound. The loss of electrons makes the charge of the atom or compound become positive because we're losing this negative charge that electrons contain.

Reduction refers to the electron gaining of an atom or compound. The gaining of electrons makes the charge of the atom or compound become negative because we're gaining this negative charge that electrons have.

Now, let's see the balanced chemical reaction between CuSO4 and Fe:

`CuSO_4+Fe\rightarrow FeSO_4+Cu.`

You can see that the Cu uses the oxidation state of +2 because of the bonding with SO4 (2-). This applies to FeSO4, where Fe uses the oxidation state of +2.

Fe, in this case, is oxidizing because initially has an oxidation state of zero and then, it becomes a positive charge with +2. And Cu is reducing because initially has an oxidation state of +2 and in the product, it has 0 as oxidation state, getting a more negative charge.

So the oxidation-reduction equations are the following:

`\begin{gathered} Oxidation:\text{ Fe}^0-2e^-\rightarrow Fe^(2+) \\ Reduction:\text{ Cu}^(2+)+2e^-\rightarrow Cu^0 \end{gathered}`