![]() Common Oxidation Numbers |
The lowest and/or highest oxidation number found for the element in compounds that would normally be available in introductory chemistry laboratories is reported. Oxidation number or oxidation state is defined by a set of arbitrary rules and indicates the extent to which an atom of an element has lost or gained electrons when the element forms a compound. (Positive oxidation states indicate that an atom has lost electrons, negative that it has gained.) Oxidation states are often useful in predicting formulas of compounds. Data were obtained from N. N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw, CHEMISTRY OF THE ELEMENTS, New York, Pergamon, 1984, page 33. |