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C6H12O6 + 6O2 ---> 6H2O + 6CO2

How many electrons are transferred in the reaction represented by the balanced equation above?

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

24e⁻ are transferred by the reaction of respiration.

Step-by-step explanation:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6 H₂O + 6CO₂

This is the reaction for the respiration process.

In this redox, oxygen acts with 0 in the oxidation state on the reactant side, and -2 in the product side - REDUCTION

Carbon acts with 0 in the glucose (cause it is neutral), on the reactant side and it has +4, on the product side - OXIDATION

6C → 6C⁴⁺ + 24e⁻

In reactant side we have a neutral carbon, so as in the product side we have a carbon with +4, it had to lose 4e⁻ to get oxidized, but we have 6 carbons, so finally carbon has lost 24 e⁻

6O⁻² + 6O₂ + 24e⁻ → 6O₂²⁻ + 6O⁻²

In reactant side, we have 6 oxygen from the glucose (oxidation state of -2) and the diatomic molecule, with no charge (ground state), so in the product side, we have the oxygen from the dioxide with -2 and the oxygen from the water, also with -2 at the oxidation state. Finally the global charge for the product side is -36, and in reactant side is -12, so it has to win 24 e⁻ (those that were released by the C) to be reduced.

User Diya Li
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