Question

What is an oxidation state? Explain by giving an example.

Answer 1

a number assigned to an element in chemical combination which represents the number of electrons lost (or gained, if the number is negative), by an atom of that element in the compound.

Oxidation state (or oxidation number) refers to the number of electrons added to or removed from an element when it forms a chemical compound. ... But when it gives up its one valence (outer) electron (symbolized by e−), it becomes a sodium ion Na+ with anoxidation state of +1. Iron is anotherexample.