Final answer:
Nitric acid (HNO₃) does oxidize arsenous acid (H₃AsO₃) to arsenic acid (H₃AsO₄), with nitric acid being reduced to nitrogen monoxide (NO). This is indeed a redox reaction, with electron transfer and changes in oxidation states indicating the reduction and oxidation processes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question whether nitric acid (HNO₃) will oxidize arsenous acid (H₃AsO₃) is a typical college-level chemistry question focused on understanding redox reactions.
In this reaction, the arsenous acid is being oxidized to arsenic acid (H₃AsO₄), while the nitric acid is reduced to nitrogen monoxide (NO).
This process is a classic example of a redox reaction where the transfer of electrons occurs between two substances. It is important to recognize that nitric acid is a powerful oxidizing agent due to its ability to accept electrons, which is shown by its reduction to NO, and subsequent reaction with oxygen to form NO₂, the brown gas typically associated with nitric acid decomposition.
The change in oxidation states confirms the redox nature of this reaction. The nitrogen in nitric acid goes from an oxidation state of +5 to +2 in NO, and the arsenic in arsenous acid changes from +3 to +5 in arsenic acid, signifying the transfer of electrons from the arsenic to the nitrogen, thus completing the redox process.