Hey there! We receieved your request
Stay Tuned as we are going to contact you within 1 Hour
One of our academic counsellors will contact you within 1 working day.
Click to Chat
1800-5470-145
+91 7353221155
Use Coupon: CART20 and get 20% off on all online Study Material
Complete Your Registration (Step 2 of 2 )
Sit and relax as our customer representative will contact you within 1 business day
OTP to be sent to Change
terathionate ion (S4O6) that has an overall charge of 2-, we can see something strange happening with the oxidation numbers. The oxygen present in the molecule has a charge of -12 all together (-2 X 6). And to get to a charge of -2, it requires Sulfur to have an overall charge of +10. This divided by the 4 atoms means that a Sulfate ion has a charge of +2.5!
This is not theoretically possible, because no elements have half an electron that can be ionised off, and therefore the oxidation numbers must always be an integer (a whole number).What actually happens in the terathionate ion is that the oxidation number of +2.5 is just the average. A fraction as an oxidation number just means that not all of the atoms have the same oxidation state!
As you can see, the two Sulfurs on the outside have an oxidation number of +5(bonded to 3 oxygen's and a sulfur), but then they also carry a charge of +2, so therefore the oxidation number of +5 is reached. Meanwhile, the 2 Sulfurs in the middle are only bonded to each other and the outside Sulfurs and have an overall charge of 0. This is because its a equivalent to a covalent diatomic molecule.
Get your questions answered by the expert for free
You will get reply from our expert in sometime.
We will notify you when Our expert answers your question. To View your Question
Win Gift vouchers upto Rs 500/-
Register Yourself for a FREE Demo Class by Top IITians & Medical Experts Today !