How do I identify the reducing agent in a reaction of magnesium with oxygen?

To identify the reducing agent in a reaction of magnesium with oxygen, you need to understand that the reducing agent is the substance that loses electrons and gets oxidized during the reaction.

1. Write down the balanced chemical equation for the reaction:
2 Mg + O2 → 2 MgO

2. Determine the oxidation states (or oxidation numbers) of each element in the reaction equation.
- Magnesium (Mg) is a metal and is typically assigned an oxidation state of 0 in its elemental form.
- Oxygen (O) is a diatomic molecule and is typically assigned an oxidation state of -2.

3. Identify the changes in oxidation states for each element in the reaction.
- Magnesium (Mg) goes from an oxidation state of 0 to +2 in MgO.
- Oxygen (O) goes from an oxidation state of 0 to -2 in MgO.

4. Compare the changes in oxidation states.
- Magnesium undergoes an increase in oxidation state from 0 to +2, which means it loses two electrons.
- Oxygen undergoes a decrease in oxidation state from 0 to -2, which means it gains two electrons.

5. The substance that loses electrons is the reducing agent.
- In the reaction of magnesium with oxygen, magnesium loses two electrons and gets oxidized. Therefore, magnesium is the reducing agent in this reaction.

In summary, the reducing agent in the reaction of magnesium with oxygen is magnesium itself because it loses two electrons and is oxidized from an oxidation state of 0 to +2.

To identify the reducing agent in a reaction of magnesium with oxygen, you need to understand the concept of oxidation and reduction.

In a redox (oxidation-reduction) reaction, one species loses electrons (undergoes oxidation) while another species gains electrons (undergoes reduction). The species that loses electrons is called the reducing agent.

In the reaction of magnesium with oxygen, magnesium (Mg) reacts with oxygen (O2) to form magnesium oxide (MgO):

2Mg + O2 → 2MgO

To identify the reducing agent, we can assign oxidation numbers to the magnesium (Mg) and oxygen (O) atoms.

In magnesium, the oxidation state of an atom in its elemental form is zero. In magnesium oxide (MgO), the oxidation state of magnesium is +2, and the oxidation state of oxygen is -2.

Now, observe the change in oxidation state of the atoms in the reaction:

Mg: 0 → +2 (increase in oxidation state)
O: 0 → -2 (decrease in oxidation state)

From this, we can see that magnesium is undergoing oxidation (its oxidation state is increasing from 0 to +2) and oxygen is undergoing reduction (its oxidation state is decreasing from 0 to -2).

Therefore, the reducing agent in this reaction is magnesium (Mg), as it is the species that is being oxidized (losing electrons) to form magnesium oxide (MgO).

Its the one that loses electrons; i.e., the one that is oxidized. To help out a little I can tell you that O2 goes from zero on the left to -2 on the right for each atom. Mg goes from zero on the left to +2 on the right for each atom.

2Mg + O2 ==> 2MgO