Aluminum metal reacts with oxygen gas (O2) to form aluminum oxide.
a. Write a balanced equation for this oxidation-reduction reaction. (In this problem you need not worry about the physical state of the reactants or product.)
2Al+3O2=2Al2O3
b. which reactant is oxidized?
O2
c. Which reactant is being reduced?
Al
d. What is the oxidizing agent?
Al
e. What is the reducing agent?
O2
None are right including the equation. it isn't balanced.
Oxidation is the loss of electrons.
Reduction is the gain of electrons.
This site is a good redox site.
http://www.chemteam.info/Redox/Redox.html
4Al+3O2=2Al2O3
O2 is being oxidized
Al is being reduced
Al is the oxidizing agent
O2 is the reducing agent
Second time through is right on all.
Im confused still for the first question
To answer these questions, you need to understand the concept of oxidation and reduction in a chemical reaction.
a. To write a balanced equation, you need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation. In this case, aluminum (Al) reacts with oxygen (O2) to form aluminum oxide (Al2O3). The balanced equation is:
2Al + 3O2 → 2Al2O3
b. In a redox (oxidation-reduction) reaction, one species is oxidized and another is reduced. The species that loses electrons is oxidized. In this case, aluminum (Al) loses electrons from its valence shell, so it is oxidized.
c. The species that gains electrons is reduced. In this case, oxygen (O2) gains electrons, so it is being reduced.
d. The oxidizing agent is the species that causes another species to be oxidized. It itself gets reduced in the process. In this case, aluminum (Al) acts as the oxidizing agent as it causes oxygen (O2) to be oxidized.
e. The reducing agent is the species that causes another species to be reduced. It itself gets oxidized in the process. In this case, oxygen (O2) acts as the reducing agent as it causes aluminum (Al) to be reduced.