Question

“Oxidation and reduction process occurs simultaneously”. Justify the statement with the help of an example.

Answer 1

Oxidation reaction:

A chemical reaction in which oxygen is added and hydrogen is removed is called an oxidation reaction.

Reduction reaction:

A chemical reaction in which hydrogen is added and oxygen is removed is called a reduction reaction.

Redox reaction:

A chemical reaction in which oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously is called a redox reaction.

To Justify the statement “oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously” we take an example of a chemical reaction:

Chemical reaction:

$\mathrm{CuO}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\to \mathrm{Cu}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)$

1. Here, Copper oxide(CuO) changes to copper(Cu), and oxygen is removed from copper(Cu) so it is a reduction reaction whereas Hydrogen (H₂) is added with oxygen (O₂) to form water (H₂O) molecules so it is an oxidation reaction.
2. This proves that oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously and this type of reaction is called a redox reaction.

Therefore, the statement is justified with the help of the above chemical reaction.