What happens during redox reactions?
↳Redirected from
"What is Boyle's law?"
And by stuff we mean #"FORMAL ELECTRON TRANSFER...."#
We conceive of #"oxidation"# as the formal loss of electrons...and typically, metals, electron-rich substances, are oxidized...
#Mg(s) rarr Mg^(2+) + 2e^(-)# #(i)#
Electrons are included as particles of convenience.
And #"reduction"# is the FORMAL gain of electrons, and typically, non-metals, elements from the right hand side of the Periodic Table as we face it, with HIGH nuclear charge, are reduced...
#1/2O_2+2e^(-) rarr O^(2-)# #(ii)#
We add the two equations together in such a way that the electrons, as formal particles, are ELIMINATED...#(i)+(ii)# gives...
#Mg(s) +1/2O_2 rarr MgO(s)#
And see this [old answer and links...](https://socratic.org/questions/what-is-oxidation-number-write-it-s-uses)
