What are oxidation numbers of the elements in the compound #Na_3PO_3#?

1 Answer
Lucky13
Apr 13, 2017

Check it out

Explanation:

The compound is neutral, meaning that the oxidation numbers will cancel each other out:
...............................................................................................................................
Na in a compound is pretty much always +1

Hence, we have #3*(+1)# coming from the 3 Sodiums
...............................................................................................................................
Oxygen unless in an elemental or peroxide form will have an oxidation number of -2

Hence, we have #3*(-2)# coming from the 3 Oxygen atoms
...............................................................................................................................
Because the compound is neutral we know that

#+3_(f rom Na)-6_(f rom O)+P=0#
#P=+3#

Therefore
Na (+1)
P (+3)
O (-2)

Related questions
See all questions in Oxidation Numbers
Impact of this question
5742 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License