{"id":234708,"date":"2025-06-14T11:46:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T11:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=234708"},"modified":"2025-06-14T11:46:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T11:46:28","slug":"what-is-the-average-oxidation-number-of-carbon-in-dichloroacetic-acid-chcl2cooh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/14\/what-is-the-average-oxidation-number-of-carbon-in-dichloroacetic-acid-chcl2cooh\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the average oxidation number of carbon in dichloroacetic acid (CHCl2COOH)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the average oxidation number of carbon in dichloroacetic acid (CHCl2COOH)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Correct Answer: +2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Explanation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To find the average oxidation number of carbon in dichloroacetic acid (CHCl\u2082COOH), begin by examining the structure and assigning known oxidation numbers to other atoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chemical formula:<\/strong> CHCl\u2082COOH<br>This compound contains <strong>two carbon atoms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Break it down into groups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One <strong>carbon<\/strong> is part of the <strong>CHCl\u2082<\/strong> group.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One <strong>carbon<\/strong> is part of the <strong>COOH<\/strong> (carboxylic acid) group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Known oxidation numbers:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hydrogen (H) = +1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oxygen (O) = \u20132<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chlorine (Cl) = \u20131<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now apply the rules to calculate the total oxidation state for each carbon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 1: Assign oxidation numbers to atoms in CHCl\u2082COOH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Carbon in CHCl\u2082 be <strong>C\u2081<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Carbon in COOH be <strong>C\u2082<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>COOH group:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Structure: \u2013C(=O)OH<br>Atoms involved: 1 carbon, 2 oxygen atoms, 1 hydrogen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hydrogen = +1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two oxygen atoms = 2 \u00d7 (\u20132) = \u20134<br>Total contribution from H and O = +1 + (\u20134) = \u20133<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To balance the group to neutral, carbon (C\u2082) must be <strong>+3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CHCl\u2082 group:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Atoms: 1 hydrogen, 2 chlorine atoms, 1 carbon<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hydrogen = +1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chlorines = 2 \u00d7 (\u20131) = \u20132<br>Total contribution from H and Cl = +1 + (\u20132) = \u20131<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To balance the group, carbon (C\u2081) must be <strong>+1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 2: Find average oxidation number of both carbon atoms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Total oxidation number of carbon atoms = +1 (C\u2081) + +3 (C\u2082) = +4<br>Number of carbon atoms = 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Average oxidation number = +4 \u00f7 2 = +2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/learnexams-banner8-475.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234709\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><br>The average oxidation number of carbon in dichloroacetic acid is <strong>+2<\/strong>. This value represents the mean oxidation state of all carbon atoms present in the molecule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the average oxidation number of carbon in dichloroacetic acid (CHCl2COOH)? The Correct Answer and Explanation is: Correct Answer: +2 Explanation: To find the average oxidation number of carbon in dichloroacetic acid (CHCl\u2082COOH), begin by examining the structure and assigning known oxidation numbers to other atoms. Chemical formula: CHCl\u2082COOHThis compound contains two carbon atoms. 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