What is the reducing agent in the forward reaction?

H2O2(aq) + 2 HI(aq)--->2 H2O(l)+I2(s)

Since H2O2 can be both a reducing and oxidizing depending. I am confused on what is the reducing agent. Can someone please explain.

Reducting agent is the species that lost electrons (ie,it was oxidized). On the left, I- in HI had one extra electron, on the right, it has none.

To identify the reducing agent in a chemical reaction, you need to understand the concept of oxidation and reduction. In a chemical reaction, oxidation involves the loss of electrons, while reduction involves the gain of electrons.

In the given reaction:
H2O2(aq) + 2 HI(aq) ---> 2 H2O(l) + I2(s)

We can assign oxidation states to each element to track the electron transfer:
H2O2: Oxygen (O) has an oxidation state of -1, Hydrogen (H) has an oxidation state of +1
HI: Iodine (I) has an oxidation state of -1, Hydrogen (H) has an oxidation state of +1

In the reactants, hydrogen has an oxidation state of +1 in both H2O2 and HI. However, in the products, oxygen has an oxidation state of -2 in H2O. Therefore, we can observe that the oxygen in H2O2 has undergone reduction since its oxidation state has decreased from -1 to -2.

In this reaction, H2O2 acts as the reducing agent because it causes the reduction of oxygen in itself (from -1 to -2) and oxidizes the iodine in HI from -1 to 0 (I2). This means that H2O2 loses electrons and is oxidized, making it the reducing agent.

To determine the reducing agent, you need to examine how the oxidation states change before and after the reaction. The element that undergoes reduction and causes another element to be oxidized is considered the reducing agent.