Question

What is the oxidation number of SO3?

Answer 1

There are generally two possible answer to the question:

Explanation:

The Oxidation states in SO3(g) are: Sulfur (+6) & Oxygen (-2), because SO3(g) has no charge.

However in `(SO_3)_2` - (aq) the Oxidation states are: Sulfur (+4) & Oxygen (-2).

Don't get the two confused, they may both be written without the charge, but if SO3 is (aq) it will have a charge of -2.