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Oxidation State

Oxidation is the addition of oxygen, removal of hydrogen, the loss of electrons or the increase in oxidation number.
Reduction is the removal of oxygen, addition of hydrogen, the gain of electrons or the decrease in oxidation number.
The oxidation number of an element is the number of electrons involved in its bonding to another element.

The oxidation number can be used to check that all the electrons in a formula or reaction can be accounted for.

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Specification: AQA Chemistry (7404), AS-level, 3.1.7 Oxidation, reduction and redox equations. Topic: Oxidation and Reduction.

Key terms in this lesson

Oxidation
The addition of oxygen, the removal of hydrogen, the loss of electrons, or an increase in oxidation number.
Reduction
The removal of oxygen, the addition of hydrogen, the gain of electrons, or a decrease in oxidation number.

More in Oxidation and Reduction

All 15 lessons in Oxidation and Reduction · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics