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Chapter 4: Problem 132

Hydrochloric acid is not an oxidizing agent in the sense that sulfuric acid and nitric acid are. Explain why the chloride ion is not a strong oxidizing agent like \(\mathrm{SO}_{4}^{2-}\) and \(\mathrm{NO}_{3}^{-}\).

Short Answer

Expert verified
The reason why chloride ion is not a strong oxidizing agent like sulfate and nitrate ions are due to its lower standard electrode potential and its stability with a fully-filled outermost shell after gaining one electron.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Redox Reactions

In a redox (reduction-oxidation) reaction, the oxidizing agent is the substance that accepts electrons, getting reduced in the process, while the reducing agent is the substance that loses electrons, getting oxidized.
02

Standard Electrode Potentials

Standard electrode potential is a measure of the tendency of a redox couple (a half-reaction) to get reduced. An oxidizing agent with a higher (more positive) standard electrode potential has more tendency to gain electrons and get reduced.
03

Comparing Electrode Potentials

The standard electrode potentials for sulfate ion \(\mathrm{SO}_{4}^{2-}\) and nitrate ion \(\mathrm{NO}_{3}^{-}\) are significantly higher than that of chloride ion \(\mathrm{Cl}^{-}\). Therefore, \(\mathrm{SO}_{4}^{2-}\) and \(\mathrm{NO}_{3}^{-}\) have higher tendencies to accept electrons and act as oxidizing agents.
04

Stability of Chloride Ion

\(\mathrm{Cl}^{-}\) ion is stable and does not have a tendency to get reduced by accepting electrons. This is due to the fully filled outermost electron shell in \(\mathrm{Cl}^{-}\) ion after gaining one electron, following the octet rule.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A 0.9157 -g mixture of \(\mathrm{CaBr}_{2}\) and \(\mathrm{NaBr}\) is dissolved in water, and \(\mathrm{AgNO}_{3}\) is added to the solution to form AgBr precipitate. If the mass of the precipitate is \(1.6930 \mathrm{~g}\), what is the percent by mass of \(\mathrm{NaBr}\) in the original mixture?

Write the equation that enables us to calculate the concentration of a diluted solution. Give units for all the terms.

Carbon dioxide in air can be removed by an aqueous metal hydroxide solution such as \(\mathrm{LiOH}\) and \(\mathrm{Ba}(\mathrm{OH})_{2} .\) (a) Write equations for the reactions. (Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid.) (b) Calculate the mass of \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\) that can be removed by \(5.00 \times 10^{2} \mathrm{~mL}\) of a \(0.800 \mathrm{M} \mathrm{LiOH}\) and a \(0.800 M \mathrm{Ba}(\mathrm{OH})_{2}\) solution. (c) Which solution would you choose for use in a space capsule and which for use in a submarine?

Hydrogen halides (HF, HCl, HBr, HI) are highly reactive compounds that have many industrial and laboratory uses. (a) In the laboratory, HF and \(\mathrm{HCl}\) can be generated by reacting \(\mathrm{CaF}_{2}\) and \(\mathrm{NaCl}\) with concentrated sulfuric acid. Write appropriate equations for the reactions. (Hint: These are not redox reactions.) (b) Why is it that HBr and HI cannot be prepared similarly-that is, by reacting NaBr and NaI with concentrated sulfuric acid? (Hint: \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{SO}_{4}\) is a stronger oxidizing agent than both \(\mathrm{Br}_{2}\) and \(\mathrm{I}_{2} .\) ) (c) HBr can be prepared by reacting phosphorus tribromide \(\left(\mathrm{PBr}_{3}\right)\) with water. Write an equation for this reaction.

On standing, a concentrated nitric acid gradually turns yellow. Explain. (Hint: Nitric acid slowly decomposes. Nitrogen dioxide is a colored gas.)
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