What is the oxidation state of magnesium?

1 Answer
David Drayer
Sep 16, 2016

The oxidation number of magnesium is +2

Explanation:

The electrical ground state of magnesium is # 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2#

The 3s electrons are not stable. If magnesium loses the 2 3s electrons it has the electron configuration of Neon which is stable.

So when Magnesium loses the 2 3s electrons it has a charge of +2

Magnesium still has 12 protons but now has only 10 electrons

The 12 protons have a charge of +12
The 10 electrons have a charge of -10

+12 + (-10) = + 2

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