Can oxiadation occur without reduction ? Explain.
Can oxiadation occur without reduction ? Explain.
Oxidation or reduction can never take place alone. Both oxidation and reduction take place side by side.
For a chemical species to get oxidised there is always need of an oxidising agent which will itself get reduced .
Consider the following activity in support of this concept..
- Take Copper sulphate (CuSO4) in a beaker and place an Iron nail in it.
- Leave the beaker undisturbed for some time.
- Observe the change in the colour of the solution and Iron nail.
When an Iron nail is dipped in a beaker containing Copper sulphate solution, the blue colour of the solution fades to green and the red deposits occur on Iron nail.
This happens because Iron from the nail reduces copper from copper sulphate solution( as Iron is more reactive than Copper) and gets oxidized itself to form Iron sulphate.
Fe(s) + CuSO4 (aq) → FeSO4 (aq) + Cu(s)
Thus in this reaction, Oxidation of Iron and reduction of Copper takes place simultaneously.
Oxidation or reduction can never take place alone. Both oxidation and reduction take place side by side.
For a chemical species to get oxidised there is always need of an oxidising agent which will itself get reduced .
Consider the following activity in support of this concept..
- Take Copper sulphate (CuSO4) in a beaker and place an Iron nail in it.
- Leave the beaker undisturbed for some time.
- Observe the change in the colour of the solution and Iron nail.
When an Iron nail is dipped in a beaker containing Copper sulphate solution, the blue colour of the solution fades to green and the red deposits occur on Iron nail.
This happens because Iron from the nail reduces copper from copper sulphate solution( as Iron is more reactive than Copper) and gets oxidized itself to form Iron sulphate.
Fe(s) + CuSO4 (aq) → FeSO4 (aq) + Cu(s)
Thus in this reaction, Oxidation of Iron and reduction of Copper takes place simultaneously.
