{"id":27773,"date":"2025-06-20T07:02:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T07:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/?p=27773"},"modified":"2025-06-20T07:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T07:02:09","slug":"what-are-the-original-and-final-oxidation-numbers-for-iron-in-the-smelting-of-iron-from-iron-oxide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/what-are-the-original-and-final-oxidation-numbers-for-iron-in-the-smelting-of-iron-from-iron-oxide\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the original and final oxidation numbers for iron in the smelting of iron from iron oxide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

.What are the original and final oxidation numbers for iron in the smelting of iron from iron oxide? Fe2O3(s) + 3 CO(g) \u2192 2 Fe(s) + 3 CO2(g)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correct Answer:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the smelting of iron from iron oxide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Original oxidation number of iron (Fe) in Fe\u2082O\u2083<\/strong> is +3<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Final oxidation number of iron (Fe) in Fe (metal)<\/strong> is 0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Explanation:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In the chemical reaction:
    Fe\u2082O\u2083(s) + 3 CO(g) \u2192 2 Fe(s) + 3 CO\u2082(g)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    iron is being extracted from its ore, iron(III) oxide (Fe\u2082O\u2083), using carbon monoxide (CO) as a reducing agent. To determine the oxidation states, we look at each element in the compounds involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fe\u2082O\u2083 is a neutral compound. Oxygen almost always has an oxidation number of \u22122<\/strong> in compounds. Since there are three oxygen atoms, their total contribution to the charge is 3 \u00d7 (\u22122) = \u22126<\/strong>. To balance this, the two iron atoms must contribute +6<\/strong>, so each iron atom has an oxidation number of +3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thus, in Fe\u2082O\u2083, iron has an oxidation number of +3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the product side, Fe appears as a pure element. Elements in their elemental form have an oxidation number of 0<\/strong>. This means iron has been reduced \u2014 its oxidation number has decreased from +3 to 0<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This decrease shows that iron gains electrons. Specifically, each Fe\u00b3\u207a ion gains 3 electrons to become Fe\u2070:
    Fe\u00b3\u207a + 3e\u207b \u2192 Fe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At the same time, CO is oxidized to CO\u2082. Carbon in CO typically has an oxidation number of +2<\/strong>, and in CO\u2082 it becomes +4<\/strong>, indicating it loses electrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This reaction is an example of a redox (reduction\u2013oxidation) process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Iron is reduced<\/strong> (gain of electrons, +3 to 0)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Carbon monoxide is oxidized<\/strong> (loss of electrons, +2 to +4)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The reduction of iron oxide to metallic iron is the key step in iron smelting, where iron is separated from its ore for industrial use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      .What are the original and final oxidation numbers for iron in the smelting of iron from iron oxide? Fe2O3(s) + 3 CO(g) \u2192 2 Fe(s) + 3 CO2(g) The Correct Answer and Explanation is: Correct Answer: In the smelting of iron from iron oxide: Explanation: In the chemical reaction:Fe\u2082O\u2083(s) + 3 CO(g) \u2192 2 Fe(s) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-quiz-questions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27775,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27773\/revisions\/27775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}