Questions: What is the oxidation state of S in H2SO4? A. +6 B. +8 C. -2 D. -4

Transcript text: Apex Learning - Courses m/public/activity/5000001/assessment Pretest: Unit 5 Question 16 of 30 What is the oxidation state of S in $\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{SO}_{4}$ ? A. +6 B. +8 C. -2 D. -4 SUBMIT PREvious

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Identify the oxidation states of known elements

In the compound $\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{SO}_{4}$, we know the typical oxidation states of hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O):

Hydrogen (H) typically has an oxidation state of +1.
Oxygen (O) typically has an oxidation state of -2.

Step 2: Set up the equation for the sum of oxidation states

The sum of the oxidation states in a neutral compound must equal zero. Let $x$ be the oxidation state of sulfur (S) in $\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{SO}_{4}$. The compound contains:

2 hydrogen atoms: $2 \times (+1) = +2$
1 sulfur atom: $x$
4 oxygen atoms: $4 \times (-2) = -8$

The sum of these oxidation states must equal zero: \[ 2(+1) + x + 4(-2) = 0 \]

Step 3: Solve for the oxidation state of sulfur

Simplify and solve the equation: \[ 2 + x - 8 = 0 \] \[ x - 6 = 0 \] \[ x = 6 \]