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Chemistry  /  Chem 0453  ·  Atom · ~20 seconds

Oxidation Numbers

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An oxidation number is an assigned charge tracking how electrons are distributed among an atom's bonds, ionic or not.

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In water, H2O, oxygen is assigned −2 and each hydrogen +1, values that sum to zero for the neutral molecule.

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An oxidation number is an accounting convention, not necessarily an atom's real, measured charge in a covalent molecule.