Question

In the treatment of domestic water supplies, chlorine is added to the water to form chloric(I) acid,HClO.

Answer 1

Chlorine goes from Cl₂ to ClO⁻.

Oxidation state of Cl in Cl₂ is zero whereas in ClO⁻ it is +1. Hence change in oxidation state of Chlorine is 1.

Calculation of oxidation number of Cl in ClO⁻ or HClO⁻ :
Let x be oxidation number of Cl in ClO⁻ the. Now since the net charge on ClO⁻ is -1, sum of oxidation number of all must be equal to -1. 


Therefore,
x + (-2) = -1 .....[ oxidation number of O is -2]
∴ x = 2-1 = +1
Therefore oxidation number of Cl in ClO⁻ is +1