Electrochemical reactions involve the transfer of electrons. Mass and charge are conserved when balancing these reactions, but you need to know which atoms are oxidized and which atoms are reduced during the reaction.?Oxidation numbers?are used to keep track of how many electrons are lost or gained by each atom. These oxidation numbers are assigned using the following rules: The convention is that the cation is written first in a formula, followed by the anion. For example, in NaH, the H is H-; in HCl, the H is H+. The oxidation number of a free element is always 0. The atoms in He and N2, for example, have oxidation numbers of 0. The oxidation number of a monatomic ion equals the charge of the ion. For example, the oxidation number of Na+?is +1; the oxidation number of N3-?is -3.
Chemical reactions
Electrochemical reactions involve the transfer of electrons. Mass and charge are conserved when balancing these reactions, but you need to know which atoms are oxidized and which atoms are reduced during the reaction.?Oxidation numbers?are used to keep track of how many electrons are lost or gained by each atom. These oxidation numbers are assigned using the following rules: The convention is that the cation is written first in a formula, followed by the anion. For example, in NaH, the H is H-; in HCl, the H is H+. The oxidation number of a free element is always 0. The atoms in He and N2, for example, have oxidation numbers of 0. The oxidation number of a monatomic ion equals the charge of the ion. For example, the oxidation number of Na+?is +1; the oxidation number of N3-?is -3.
Need Help?
We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.
If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.
Need Notes?
While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!