Oksüdatsiooniaste

Oksüdatsiooniaste, also known as oxidation state or oxidation number, is a conceptual tool used in chemistry to track the hypothetical charge of an atom within a compound. It represents the degree of oxidation of an atom. By convention, the oxidation state of an atom in its elemental form is zero. For ions, the oxidation state is equal to the charge of the ion. For example, in NaCl, sodium (Na) has an oxidation state of +1 and chlorine (Cl) has an oxidation state of -1. In compounds, the sum of the oxidation states of all atoms must equal the overall charge of the compound or ion. Oxygen typically has an oxidation state of -2, except in peroxides where it is -1, and when bonded to fluorine. Hydrogen usually has an oxidation state of +1 when bonded to nonmetals and -1 when bonded to metals. Determining oxidation states is crucial for understanding redox reactions, where electrons are transferred between species, leading to changes in their oxidation states. It helps in balancing chemical equations and predicting the reactivity of substances.