Question

Describe how particles of iron (Fe) an oxygen (O2) react to how produce oxide (Fe2O3), also known as rust.

Answer 1

Answer:

Described by a redox reaction below

Explanation:

Iron(III) oxide is an ionic compound, since it consists of a metal, iron, and a nonmetal, oxygen.

Ionic compounds are formed when metals lose their valence electrons in order to have an octet in their previous shell and donate them to nonmetal atoms, so that nonmetals fill their outer shell to have an octet.

As a result, positive ions (cations) and negative ions (anions) are formed. When iron reacts with oxygen, the following reaction takes place:

$4 Fe (s) + 3 O_2 (g)\rightarrow 2 Fe_2O_3 (s)$

This is a redox (oxidation–reduction) reaction, since we have electron loss and gain. Four iron atoms lose a total of 12 electrons to obtain a +3 charge in the final compound, while 3 oxygen molecules gain these 12 electrons to become 6 oxide anions with a -2 charge.