write the balanced half reaction for the reaction of Al3+ to Al
(3+ is the oxidation state)
i don't understand... wouldn't you just subtract 3 electrons from the Al3+
to make it neutral? and then the final answer would be Al-> Al?
please help.. i don't understand..
Not quite.
You want Al^+3 + 3e ==> Al.
And you are adding three electrons and not subtracting them. It's a reduction because you are adding electrons. Oxidation is the loss of electrons.
ohh ok that makes sense. thank you!
When balancing a half-reaction, it is necessary to consider the conservation of mass and charge. In this case, the half-reaction involves the reduction of Al3+ to Al.
To balance the half-reaction, you are correct that you need to add 3 electrons to the reactant side (Al3+). This is because Al3+ has a 3+ charge, and adding 3 electrons would reduce its charge to 0, resulting in Al.
The balanced half-reaction can be written as follows:
Al3+ + 3e- → Al
By adding 3 electrons to the reactant side and leaving Al as the product, we satisfy the conservation of charge as well as mass. It is important to note that the arrow indicates the direction of electron transfer, with the reactant being on the left side and the product on the right side.
write the balanced half-reaction equation for the reduction of Al3+ to Al.
i'm sorry; I'm getting tired :)