Oxidation number of P in H2PO2?

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Answer 1 · 2018-02-22T11:30:55

+2

Oxidation number of hydrogen $=+1$

Oxidation number of oxygen $= -2$

Let oxidation number of phosphorous be a.

The sum of oxidation numbers of all the atoms in a compound is 0.

Thus ,

$2(+1) + a + 2(-2) = 0$

$2 + a - 4 = 0$

$a - 2 = 0$

$a = +2$

So , oxidation number of P in $H_2PO_2$ is $+2$ .