9/24/2017 Balancing redox reactions by oxidation number change method

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There are two common techniques for balancing redox equations:

1. Oxidation number change method
2. Ion-electron method (also called the half-reaction method)

BALANCING REDOX REACTIONS

by oxidation number change method

In the oxidation number change method the underlying principle is that the gain in the oxidation number (number of electrons) in one reactant must be
equal to the loss in the oxidation number of the other reactant.

Equation: MnO4- + CN- = MnO2 + CNO-

Acidic medium Basic medium

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Practice exercises Balanced equation

Step 1. Write down the unbalanced equation ('skeleton equation') of the chemical reaction. All reactants and products must be known. For a better
result write the reaction in ionic form.

MnO4- + CN-
MnO2 + CNO
-

Step 2. Separate the process into half reactions. A redox reaction is nothing but both oxidation and reduction reactions taking place simultaneously.

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9/24/2017 Balancing redox reactions by oxidation number change method

a) Assign oxidation numbers for each atom in the equation. Oxidation number (also called oxidation state) is a measure of the degree of
oxidation of an atom in a substance (see: Rules for assigning oxidation numbers).

+7 -2 +2 -3 +4 -2 +4 -3 -2
MnO4 + CN
- -
MnO2 + CNO
-

b) Identify and write out all redox couples in reaction. Identify which reactants are being oxidized (the oxidation number increases when it
reacts) and which are being reduced (the oxidation number goes down).

+2 -3 +4 -3 -2
-
O: CN CNO-

+7 -2 +4 -2
R: MnO4- MnO2

c) Write down the transfer of electrons. Be carefully, insert coefficients, if necessary, to make the numbers of oxidized and reduced atoms
equal on the two sides of each redox couples.

+2 -3 +4 -3 -2
-
O: CN CNO- + 2e-

+7 -2 +4 -2
- -
R: MnO4 + 3e MnO2

Step 3. Balance the atoms in each half reaction. A chemical equation must have the same number of atoms of each element on both sides of the
equation. Add appropriate coefficients (stoichiometric coefficients) in front of the chemical formulas to balance the number of atoms. Never change
any formulas.
a) Balance all other atoms except hydrogen and oxygen. We can use any of the species that appear in the skeleton equations for this purpose.
Keep in mind that reactants should be added only to the left side of the equation and products to the right.

+2 -3 +4 -3 -2
-
O: CN CNO- + 2e-

+7 -2 +4 -2
- -
R: MnO4 + 3e MnO2

b) Balance the charge. For reactions in a basic solution, balance the charge so that both sides have the same total charge by adding an OH-
ion to the side deficient in negative charge.

+2 -3 +4 -3 -2
O: CN- + 2OH- CNO- + 2e-

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9/24/2017 Balancing redox reactions by oxidation number change method

+7 -2 +4 -2
- -
R: MnO4 + 3e MnO2 + 4OH-

c) Balance the oxygen atoms. Check if there are the same numbers of oxygen atoms on the left and right side, if they aren't equilibrate these
atoms by adding water molecules.

+2 -3 +4 -3 -2
O: CN- + 2OH- CNO- + 2e- + H2O

+7 -2 +4 -2
- -
R: MnO4 + 3e + 2H2O MnO2 + 4OH-

Balanced half-reactions are well tabulated in handbooks and on the web in a 'Tables of standard electrode potentials'. These tables, by
convention, contain the half-cell potentials for reduction. To make the oxidation reaction, simply reverse the reduction reaction and change the
sign on the E1/2 value.

Step 4. Make electron gain equivalent to electron lost. The electrons lost in the oxidation half-reaction must be equal the electrons gained in the
reduction half-reaction. To make the two equal, multiply the coefficients of all species by integers producing the lowest common multiple between the
half-reactions.

+2 -3 +4 -3 -2
O: 3CN- + 6OH- 3CNO- + 6e- + 3H2O

+7 -2 +4 -2
- -
R: 2MnO4 + 6e + 4H2O 2MnO2 + 8OH-

Step 5. Add the half-reactions together. The two half-reactions can be combined just like two algebraic equations, with the arrow serving as the equals
sign. Recombine the two half-reactions by adding all the reactants together on one side and all of the products together on the other side.

+2 -3 +7 -2 +4 -3 -2 +4 -2
-
3CN + 2MnO4 + 6OH + 6e + 4H2O
- - - - - -
3CNO + 2MnO2 + 6e + 8OH + 3H2O
Step 6. Simplify the equation. The same species on opposite sides of the arrow can be canceled. Write the equation so that the coefficients are the
smallest set of integers possible.

+2 -3 +7 -2 +4 -3 -2 +4 -2
-
3CN + 2MnO4 + H2O
- -
3CNO + 2MnO2 + 2OH
-

Finally, always check to see that the equation is balanced. First, verify that the equation contains the same type and number of atoms on both sides
of the equation.

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9/24/2017 Balancing redox reactions by oxidation number change method

ELEMENT LEFT RIGHT DIFFERENCE

C 3*1 3*1 0
N 3*1 3*1 0
Mn 2*1 2*1 0
O 2*4 + 1*1 3*1 + 2*2 + 2*1 0
H 1*2 2*1 0

Second, verify that the sum of the charges on one side of the equation is equal to the sum of the charges on the other side. It doesn't matter what the
charge is as long as it is the same on both sides.

3*-1 + 2*-1 + 1*0 = 3*-1 + 2*0 + 2*-1

-5 = -5

Since the sum of individual atoms on the left side of the equation matches the sum of the same atoms on the right side, and since the charges on both
sides are equal we can write a balanced equation.

-
3CN + 2MnO4 + H2O
-

-
3CNO + 2MnO2 + 2OH
-

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Citing this page:

Generalic, Eni. "Balancing redox reactions by oxidation number change method." EniG. Periodic Table of the Elements. KTF-Split, 30 Aug. 2017. Web. 23 Sep.
2017. <https://www.periodni.com/balancing_redox_equations.php>.

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