hapetusluvuksi

Hapetusluvuksi, often translated as oxidation state or oxidation number, is a concept used in chemistry to describe the hypothetical charge an atom would have if all its bonds to atoms of different elements were 100% ionic. It is a bookkeeping tool that helps chemists track electron transfer during chemical reactions. The oxidation state of an atom in a molecule or ion is represented by a number, which can be positive, negative, or zero.

Elements in their elemental form, such as O2 or Fe, have an oxidation state of zero. In compounds, certain elements consistently exhibit specific oxidation states. For instance, alkali metals (Group 1) typically have an oxidation state of +1, and alkaline earth metals (Group 2) usually have +2. Oxygen generally has an oxidation state of -2, except in peroxides where it is -1, and when bonded to fluorine. Fluorine always has an oxidation state of -1 in compounds. Hydrogen usually has an oxidation state of +1 when bonded to nonmetals and -1 when bonded to metals.

The sum of the oxidation states of all atoms in a neutral molecule must equal zero. For a polyatomic ion, the sum of the oxidation states equals the charge of the ion. Assigning oxidation states helps in understanding redox reactions, where oxidation (loss of electrons, increase in oxidation state) and reduction (gain of electrons, decrease in oxidation state) occur.