Question

If element x forms the oxides xo and x2o3 the oxidation numbers of element x are

Answer 1

Answer:

b) +2 and +3.

Explanation:

Hello,

In this case, given the molecular formulas:

$XO$

And:

$X_2O_3$

We can relate the subscripts with the oxidation states by knowing that they are crossed when the compound is formed, for that reason, we notice that oxygen oxidation state should be -2 for both cases and the oxidation state of X in the first formula must be +2 since both X and O has one as their subscript as they were simplified:

$X^{+2}O^{-2}$

Moreover, for the second case the oxidation state of X should be +3 in order to obtain 3 as the subscript of oxygen:

$X_2^{+3}O_3^{-2}$

Thus, answer is b)+2 and +3

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