Question

What is redox reaction?

Answer 1

Redox reactions (a name that comes from oxidation and reduction) are reactions in which electrons are exchanging hands between some of the atoms in the reaction.

Explanation:

Lets take the following reaction:
`2Na(s) + Cl_2(g) = 2NaCl(l)`

On the left side of the equation, both components are in their elemental state. The sodium has no charge, and the chlorine gas has no charge. However, in NaCl, both sodium atoms and chlorine atoms have charge (NaCl is an ionic compound composed of `Na^+ and Cl^-` ions)

Looking at what happens to Na:
2Na(s) = `2Na^+` + `2e^-` Sodium metal lost 2 electrons. Sodium was oxidized!

Looking at Chlorine:
`Cl_2(g) = 2e^- = 2Cl^-` Chlorine gas gained 2 electrons and is Reduced.

So in the above equation, we have both oxidation and reduction taking place, and we call this kind of a reaction a REDOX reaction.