oksiditasot

oksiditasot, or oxidation states, are a chemical bookkeeping convention used to describe the degree to which an atom has been oxidized or reduced within a compound or ion. They are assigned according to a defined set of rules that reflect electron transfer in redox processes. In a neutral compound, the sum of oxidation numbers is zero; in a polyatomic ion, the sum equals the ion’s charge. An element in its standard state is assigned oxidation state 0. Hydrogen is usually +1, except in metal hydrides where it is −1. Oxygen is typically −2, with exceptions such as peroxides (−1) and when oxygen is bonded to the most electronegative element (as in OF2 where oxygen is +2). The oxidation state of every atom in a compound is chosen so that the algebraic sum matches the overall charge.

Common oxidation states appear in patterns: hydrogen +1, oxygen −2; alkali metals +1; alkaline earth metals +2; transition metals can take multiple states, e.g., iron +2 or +3, manganese in MnO4− is +7, copper can be +1 or +2. In complex ions and coordination compounds, oxidation numbers help describe the electronic structure and reactivity.

Applications include balancing redox equations, predicting product outcomes, and understanding electron transfer in chemistry and biochemistry. They are a useful abstraction but not real charges localized on atoms; oxidation numbers are formal charges assigned for bookkeeping, and in covalent substances electrons may be shared or delocalized, making the true oxidation state non-unique in some contexts.