Question

Justify that following reactions are redox reactions:
(i) CuO(s) + H2(g) → Cu(s) + H2O(g)
(ii) Fe2O3(s) + 3CO(g) → 2Fe(s) + 3CO2(g)

Answer 1

Explanation:

a Let us write the oxidation number of each element involved in the given reaction as: Here the oxidation number of Cu decreases from +2 in CuO to 0 in Cu i.e. CuO is reduced to Cu. Also the oxidation number of H increases from 0 in H2 to +1 in H2O i.e. H2 is oxidized to H2O. Hence this reaction is a redox reaction.