Oxidising agents and reducing agents
Oxidation and reduction reactions influence many aspects of our lives.
Open this thread from a discussion board. Read the comments (but don't try the suggestions at home!)
As you work through the topic you will develop your understanding of oxidising agents and reducing agents and by the end you should be able to give better answers than the ones in the above thread. You will also discover the large range of situations where oxidation and reduction reactions are involved.
The topic should take about 6 hours to complete.
Unit Content
You will learn about:
- redox reactions
- identifying oxidation and reduction
- oxidation numbers
- oxidising agents and reducing agents
- identification of oxidants and reductants
- use of oxidants and reductants
- half-equations
- writing half-equations
- combining half-equations
- reduction potentials
- measuring reduction potentials
- using standard electrode potentials
- predicting reaction tendencies
- extraction of metals as redox reactions.
Read ideas for taking control of your learning here
The first part of the topic uses your understanding of oxidation and reduction from Stage 2 Chemistry. There are revision activities included, but also review your notes in this area. For many people the hardest part of the topic will be the use of reduction potentials which are given in the data sheet. Make sure that you are familiar with the trends and patterns shown by this list of standard reduction potentials. Devise a way to remember these trends and patterns because the more confident you are at using this list of potentials, the easier you will find this topic.
Read the unit outcomes here
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
- write equations for oxidation and reduction equations
- determine the relative strength of oxidising and reducing agents from the table of standard reductions potentials on the data sheet
- predict whether reactions will occur by comparing strengths of oxidising and reducing agents
- assign oxidation numbers to elements in substances
- use oxidation numbers to identify redox equations
- use oxidation numbers to identify oxidising and reducing agents in reactions
- know the names and formulae of some common oxidising and reducing agents
- describe how standard reduction potentials are measured and
- describe the limitations of using standard reduction potentials to predict the chemical behaviour of substances.
