{"id":260863,"date":"2025-07-19T17:19:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T17:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=260863"},"modified":"2025-07-19T17:19:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T17:19:38","slug":"what-are-the-oxidation-states-of-the-following-elements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/19\/what-are-the-oxidation-states-of-the-following-elements\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the oxidation states of the following elements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the oxidation states of the following elements? (a) Cr in K2Cr2O7 (b) Sulfur in Li2S2O3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s calculate the oxidation states of the elements in the given compounds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(a) Chromium (Cr) in K2Cr2O7 (Potassium dichromate)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. K (Potassium)<\/strong>: Potassium typically has an oxidation state of +1 because it is an alkali metal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. O (Oxygen)<\/strong>: Oxygen typically has an oxidation state of -2 in most compounds (except in peroxides and superoxides).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Now, let’s use these values to find the oxidation state of Cr:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • The overall charge of the molecule K2Cr2O7 is neutral, so the sum of all oxidation states must be 0.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • We have 2 potassium ions (each with a +1 charge), 2 chromium atoms (which we’ll call xxx for their oxidation state), and 7 oxygen atoms (each with a -2 charge).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The equation for the sum of oxidation states is:2(+1)+2(x)+7(\u22122)=02(+1) + 2(x) + 7(-2) = 02(+1)+2(x)+7(\u22122)=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Simplifying this:2+2x\u221214=02 + 2x – 14 = 02+2x\u221214=02x\u221212=02x – 12 = 02x\u221212=02x=122x = 122x=12x=+6x = +6x=+6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Thus, the oxidation state of Cr in K2Cr2O7 is +6<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (b) Sulfur (S) in Li2S2O3 (Lithium thiosulfate)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Li (Lithium)<\/strong>: Lithium has an oxidation state of +1, as it is an alkali metal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. O (Oxygen)<\/strong>: Again, oxygen typically has an oxidation state of -2.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Now, let’s determine the oxidation state of sulfur (S):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • The molecule Li2S2O3 is neutral, so the sum of oxidation states must be 0.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • There are 2 lithium ions (each with a +1 charge), 2 sulfur atoms (which we\u2019ll call xxx for their oxidation state), and 3 oxygen atoms (each with a -2 charge).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          The equation for the sum of oxidation states is:2(+1)+2(x)+3(\u22122)=02(+1) + 2(x) + 3(-2) = 02(+1)+2(x)+3(\u22122)=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Simplifying this:2+2x\u22126=02 + 2x – 6 = 02+2x\u22126=02x\u22124=02x – 4 = 02x\u22124=02x=42x = 42x=4x=+2x = +2x=+2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Thus, the oxidation state of sulfur in Li2S2O3 is +2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Summary:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • (a) The oxidation state of Cr in K2Cr2O7 is +6<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • (b) The oxidation state of sulfur in Li2S2O3 is +2<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            What are the oxidation states of the following elements? (a) Cr in K2Cr2O7 (b) Sulfur in Li2S2O3 The Correct Answer and Explanation is: Let’s calculate the oxidation states of the elements in the given compounds: (a) Chromium (Cr) in K2Cr2O7 (Potassium dichromate) Now, let’s use these values to find the oxidation state of Cr: The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260863\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}