Question

Define the following term:

Oxidation

Answer 1

Oxidation-

• It is a process during a chemical reaction in which a substance gets oxidized,
• in other words, we can say that the addition of oxygen during a chemical reaction is oxidation.

Let us understand it with an example-

• When Calcium reacts with Oxygen we get Calcium oxide.

$\underset{\mathrm{Calcium}}{2\mathrm{Ca}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Oxygen}}{{\mathrm{O}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Calcium}\mathrm{oxide}}{2\mathrm{CaO}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\mathrm{Heat}$

• In the above reaction there is the addition of Oxygen to Calcium.
• Hence, we can say that Calcium is being oxidized in the reaction.