Right on the markqueenie said:isnt it +5?
remember oxygen is usually -2, unless bonded to itself (and fluorine i think :S)AntiHyper said:How about FeSO4? I'm always confused with the introduction of 2 non-metals.
used to tell which one is under oidation and which one is in reduction. A decrease in oxidation number = reduction increase = oxidationCasmira said:precisely where is oxidation number is learnt? i totally forgot how it works, the only books I have on hand (for prelim) is spotlight chemistry, i could try and borrow conq chem ...
Oxygen can also be in the 1- state in peroxides, and in the "-1/2" state in superoxides which mainly occurs for potassium and rubidium I think. And hydrogen can be in the 1- state in hydrides. Those are the major exceptions to the rules.Originally posted by shafqat
remember oxygen is usually -2, unless bonded to itself (and fluorine i think :S)
The existence of the two states for Bismuth, and group 13 species such as Thallium, Indium and for group 14 species such as Tin and Lead is due to the inert s pair effect - the relativistic contraction of s orbitals which results in increased penetration of these electrons, thus making them more difficult to remove. Electronegativity isn't as directly important in explaining the variability in stable states for these ions - rather it can be thought of as consequential to this inert s-pair effect.Originally posted by Will Hunting
That's how it can sometimes have a valency of 3+ as well as 5+.