[Schwarz107]

In this video there is a reaction without oxygen.

Three minutes and twenty seconds out, the person says that as copper lost two electrions it was oxidized.

I know oxygen donates electrons readily. But why has donating electrons been given the word "oxidizing" even when there are no oxygen involved?

https://youtu.be/zYlOD1GWMBU

[jeffmoonchop]

Oxidation means loss of electons.

[Arkcon]

Yep.  "Oxidation" is just a word that described what oxygen did, but has since been reassigned.  Yow will find many such examples in modern chemistry, as you saw here: http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=93415.msg332549#msg332549  You will have to start working around it.

[Schwarz107]

Thanks, Arkcon!

So I suppose it's like the German word for protein was Eiweiß long ago, "egg white". But it's still used today even though there are plenty of proteins that aren't egg whites.

[Babcock_Hall]

I know oxygen donates electrons readily.

https://youtu.be/zYlOD1GWMBU

Oxygen accepts electrons; it does not donate them.  If by "readily" you mean that the thermodynamics are favorable, then I agree.  But oxygen is not always a rapid acceptor of electrons.  Speed is in the domain of kinetics.

[Schwarz107]

Thanks, Babcock_Hall!

I've just learned the word "ion", and this is how I make sense of it.





Okay, when oxygen is involved in an oxidation reaction we're quite often talking about normal oxygen atoms (non-ions).

So, when oxygen and sodium react, then oxygen actually "takes" electrons from sodium.

Both atoms "want" 8 electrons in the outer shell. When we look at the atoms below, why doesn't sodium "take" electrons from oxygen?

Oxygen, atomic number 8


Sodium, atomic number 11