Final answer:
The oxidation state of an element refers to the total number of electrons that have been removed or added to the element. It can be assigned based on specific rules. Oxygen is typically -2, hydrogen is +1 or -1, lone elements and atoms in gases are 0, elements with multiple oxidation states are determined by other elements, and elements in certain groups have an ionic charge.
Step-by-step explanation:
The oxidation state of an element refers to the total number of electrons that have been removed or added to the element to achieve its current state. It can be assigned to different elements based on specific rules or guidelines.
For example, in compounds with fluorine, the oxidation state of fluorine is always -1. Oxygen is normally assigned an oxidation state of -2 in compounds, except when it forms oxygen-fluorine or oxygen-oxygen bonds, in which case the oxidation state of oxygen is determined by the other elements. Hydrogen is assigned an oxidation state of +1 in its compounds with nonmetals and -1 in its compounds with metals.
The matching of elements or groups to the rules assigning their oxidation state is as follows:
- A) Oxygen - Almost always -2
- B) Hydrogen - +1, -1 if bonded to a diatomic metal
- C) Lone elements and atoms in gases - 0
- D) Elements with multiple oxidation states - Determined by other elements in the compound
- E) Elements in groups 1, 2, and 17 and polyatomic ions - Ionic charge