An element's oxidation number indicates how many electrons an atom has gained, lost, or shared to become stable.
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An element's oxidation number indicates the number of electrons that an atom has gained or lost to form a chemical bond. It helps to determine the distribution of electrons in a compound and allows for predicting the behavior of atoms in a chemical reaction.
Elements that have a single oxidation number include group 1 elements (e.g. sodium, potassium) which have an oxidation number of +1, and group 2 elements (e.g. magnesium, calcium) which have an oxidation number of +2.
Group 1 elements have an oxidation number of +1, group 2 elements have an oxidation number of +2, group 17 elements have an oxidation number of -1, and group 18 elements (noble gases) have zero oxidation number since they are chemically unreactive.
Group 1 elements have an oxidation number of +1.
Elements with positive oxidation numbers have excess electrons that they can share or transfer with elements having negative oxidation numbers that have electron deficiencies. This transfer or sharing of electrons allows the elements to achieve a more stable electron configuration, forming compounds through the formation of ionic or covalent bonds.
The oxidation number for group 2 elements is +2. This is because group 2 elements have 2 valence electrons, so they tend to lose these 2 electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.