[MPQC]

Okay. So I'm really having some difficulties trying to understand how to balance a redox equation. First off, here's the equation:

BrO₅ + I^- + H⁺ Br^- + I₂ + H₂O

So here's what I've done. First, I've figured out all the oxidation numbers, as my text says I should do. (The oxidation numbers of each is under each element.)

BrO₅ + I^- + H⁺ Br^- + I₂ + H₂O
5⁺ 5^- + 1⁺           6⁺ + 0

H⁺ and H₂O don't seem to matter, so I've left out their numbers.

Okay. So now, I try to figure out the difference between the elements that change.

Br⁵⁺ + 5e^-  Br^-
2I^- 2I + 2e^-

Now I need to balance the equation..And this is where I'm stumped. I have no clue what I should do. My text says I should find the radio between the differences, which seems to be a 6:1. But what exactly do I do with it, now?

[Ak]

im not to sure about your oxidation numbers...shouldnt Br- = 1- and same for I-

but wut your supposed to do is split the reaction into 2 equations: one is a reduction and the other is an oxidation.  The reduction reaction is the gain of electrons or a decrease in oxidation state and oxidation is the loss of electrons (so the charge becomes more positive (not positive) but more positive as it could be negative).  And then you balance those two reactions separately and make sure to balance the charge as well.

so according to your numbers, Br goes from 5+ to 6+ (more positive) and I goes from +1 to 0 (more negative) and so the reactions would be . (try it out and see where u get)

[MPQC]

I figured it out! I added more I's on the left, to balance out the 1:6 ratio. Then, because the I's on the other side weren't equal, I added 3 of them. (But since they have oxidation of 0, it does nothing to change it. Therefore, it's still equal.) Then, I just balanced out the H⁺ and the H₂O, as they both had oxidation of 0 as well. So it looks like this in the end:

BrO₃^- + 6I^- + 6H⁺  Br^- + 3I₂ + 3H₂O.

Checked the answer at the back, and it's right.