Balance the following equation in basic solution. indicate which reactant become

Question

Balance the following equation in basic solution. indicate which reactant becomes oxidized during the reaction, which reactant becomes reduced, which is the oxidizing agent, and which is the reducing agent. IO3- +NO2- ---> I- +NO3-

Explanation / Answer

First, split the reaction into half reactions: IO3(-) = I(-) --> First half-reaction NO2(-) = NO3(-) --> Second half-reaction Now, add electrons, H2O, and H+ ions to the above reactions to balance them: IO3(-) + 6H(+) + 6e- = I(-) + 3H2O --> The IO3(-) is reduced because the electrons are on the reactants side. It is the oxidizing agent. NO2(-) + H2O = NO3(-) + 2H(+) + 2e- --> The NO2(-) is oxidized because the electrons are on the products side. It is the reducing agent. Now, we must make sure each of the equations above have the same number of electrons, so we multiply equation 2 by 3 to make 6e-. The reason we do this is because we don't want any electrons in our final answer: 3(NO2(-) + H2O = NO3(-) + 2H(+) + 2e-) becomes 3NO2(-) + 3H2O = 3NO3(-) + 6H(+) + 6e- Now, we can add both the equations: IO3(-) + 6H(+) + 6e- = I(-) + 3H2O + 3NO2(-) + 3H2O = 3NO3(-) + 6H(+) + 6e- Complete equation: IO3(-) + 6H(+) + 6e- + 3NO2(-) + 3H2O = I(-) + 3H2O + 3NO3(-) + 6H(+) + 6e- IO3(-) + 3NO2(-) = 3NO3(-) + I(-) ---> In a basic solution, we add OH- to both sides of the equation. However, in this case, both OH- will cancel out each other, so no need to add them. Hope this helps! :)

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