[heheikkeseher]

I know the easiest way in organic chemistry is to just look at how many hydrogen and oxygens before/after the reaction, but i've been asked to explain how it's a reduction considering the oxidation number.

Any help is nice

[Babcock_Hall]

My suggestion is that you assign the oxidation numbers of the nitrogen atom in the reactant and product; then we can discuss their values.

[heheikkeseher]

My suggestion is that you assign the oxidation numbers of the nitrogen atom in the reactant and product; then we can discuss their values.

Would it be +4 for nitrophenol and -2 for aminiphenol right?

[Babcock_Hall]

I calculated slightly different values.  Why don't you show your calculations, and we can discuss them.  Also, how does your textbook and instructor define the terms oxidation and reduction?

[Babcock_Hall]

We can answer the question of how one uses oxidation numbers to decide whether or not a reaction is a reduction (or whether or not it is an oxidation) separately from the issue of assigning oxidation numbers in a particular reaction.  For example in photosynthesis one starts with carbon dioxide (in which each carbon has an oxidation number of +4) and converts it to a hexose (C_6H12O6, in which the average oxidation number of each carbon atom is 0.  Would you say that a carbon atom is getting oxidized, reduced or neither?