Consider the following beakers.In the beaker on the left copper metal is placed in a solution of silver nitrate.The reaction is allowed to run for 60 minutes producing the products shown on the right.

The equation for the oxidation half-reaction would be:

Question

Consider the following beakers.In the beaker on the left copper metal is placed in a solution of silver nitrate.The reaction is allowed to run for 60 minutes producing the products shown on the right.

The equation for the oxidation half-reaction would be:

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The oxidation half-reaction is the reaction that involves the loss of electrons. In this case, copper metal (Cu) is oxidized to copper(II) ion (Cu2+). The balanced oxidation half-reaction is:

Cu(s) → Cu2+(aq) + 2 e-

Option A shows the reduction half-reaction, which involves the gain of electrons. Option C and D are not balanced half-reactions. Therefore, option B is the correct choice.

Consider the Following Beakers