Question

For the redox reaction $Mn{O}_4^{-}+C_2{O}_4^{-2}+H^{+}\to M{n}^{2+}+C{O}_2+H_{2}O$ the correct coefficients of the reactants for the balanced reaction are

• A. $\begin{array}{ccc}Mn{O}_4^{-}& C_2{O}_4^{2-}& H^{+}\\ 2& 5& 16\end{array}$
• B. $\begin{array}{ccc}Mn{O}_4^{-}& C_2{O}_4^{2-}& H^{+}\\ 16& 5& 2\end{array}$
• C. $\begin{array}{ccc}Mn{O}_4^{-}& C_2{O}_4^{2-}& H^{+}\\ 5& 16& 2\end{array}$
• D. $\begin{array}{ccc}Mn{O}_4^{-}& C_2{O}_4^{2-}& H^{+}\\ 2& 16& 5\end{array}$

Answer 1

The correct option is A $\begin{array}{ccc}Mn{O}_4^{-}& C_2{O}_4^{2-}& H^{+}\\ 2& 5& 16\end{array}$

$Mn{O}_4^{-}+8H^{+}+5e^{-}\to M{n}^{2+}+4H_{2}O\times 2$
$\frac{C_2{O}_4^{2-}\to 2C{O}_2+2e^{-}\times 5}{2Mn{O}_4^{-}+5C_2{O}_4^{2-}+16H^{+}\to 2M{n}^{2+}+10C{O}_2+8H_{2}O}$

Thus the coefficient of $Mn{O}_4^{-},C_2{O}_4^{2-}$ and $H^{+}$ in the above balanced equation respectively are 2, 5, 16