Hydrogen gas is blown over hot iron (ii) oxide.
a. Write the balanced reduction half reaction that occurs.
b. Write the balanced oxidation half reaction that occurs.
c. Write the balanced net ionic equation for this reaction.
a. The reduction half reaction that occurs in this reaction is:
Fe2O3 + 3 H2 -> 2 Fe + 3 H2O
b. The oxidation half reaction that occurs in this reaction is:
H2 -> 2 H+ + 2 e-
c. The balanced net ionic equation for this reaction is:
Fe2O3 + 3 H2 + 6 H+ -> 2 Fe + 6 H2O
To answer these questions, we need to understand the concept of reduction and oxidation reactions and how to balance chemical equations.
a. The reduction half-reaction involves the gain of electrons (reducing agent). In this case, the hydrogen gas (H2) will be oxidized to form water (H2O). The balanced reduction half-reaction is:
2H+ + 2e- -> H2O
b. The oxidation half-reaction involves the loss of electrons (oxidizing agent). In this case, the iron (II) oxide (FeO) will be reduced to form iron (Fe). The balanced oxidation half-reaction is:
FeO -> Fe + 2e-
c. To find the overall balanced net ionic equation, we need to combine the reduction and oxidation half-reactions. Since there is the same number of electrons on both sides, we can simply add the two reactions together:
2H+ + 2e- + FeO -> H2O + Fe
So, the balanced net ionic equation for this reaction is:
2H+ + FeO -> H2O + Fe