Question

Write a balanced half-reaction describing the reduction of aqueous vanadium(v) cations to solid vanadium.

Answer 1

A balanced half-reaction for the reduction of aqueous vanadium(V) cations to solid vanadium is V5+ (aq) + 5e- → V(s), showing the gain of five electrons by the vanadium cation.

Step-by-step explanation:

To write a balanced half-reaction for the reduction of aqueous vanadium(V) cations to solid vanadium, you can follow these steps:

1. Write the skeleton equation for the reduction process. For vanadium, this would be V5+ (aq) → V(s).
2. Balance all elements except oxygen and hydrogen, which are already balanced in this case as there are no oxygen or hydrogen atoms involved in the reduction of vanadium.
3. Balance charge by adding electrons. Since vanadium is being reduced, it gains electrons. Vanadium's oxidation state decreases from +5 to 0, meaning it gains 5 electrons. This gives us the equation V5+ (aq) + 5e- → V(s).

Both the charges and atoms are balanced, so the reduction half-reaction of aqueous vanadium(V) to solid vanadium is V5+ (aq) + 5e- → V(s).