reduction potential concept question

[nickelbackfan]

Ok so I have been running into these types of problems and I was wondering if you guys can tell me if I have the correct logic.

Here's an arbitrary example

So say that the reduction potential for

X--> X(s) is [-3]

and for another reaction

Y-->Y(s) is [-5]


If a questions asks us if it is possible to reduce X using Y, would it be possible given that its oxidative potential is larger? Or another example can be "is it possible to reduce Y using X?"

I'm struggling on question stems like this and would appreciate any help!

Thanks

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[V5RED]

Reduction potential means "how much does this species desire to aquire electrons?" (ie get reduced)

It is on a relative scale.

When comparing two species we compare their position on the scale to determine which one would win if they both tried to get the same electrons.

In your example, X+ would defeat Y+ in gaining electrons. (I added the plus signs because it made no sense for a neutral atom to gain electrons and still be neutral like your example had). This is because X+ has a higher reduction potential(desire for electrons) than Y+.

If we ask if X+ can be reduced by Y, then the answer is yes. This is because if X+ and Y+ both fight for an electron, X+ will win. This means X+ will take an electron from Y and Y+ will be unable to take the electron back.

If we ask if X+ can be reduced by Y+, we would need more information to answer that. This question would be asking if Y+ would give up another electron(or electrons) to X+, and to know that we would need the reduction potential for Y2+ -> Y+ + e-

 

[nickelbackfan]

Reduction potential means "how much does this species desire to aquire electrons?" (ie get reduced)

It is on a relative scale.

When comparing two species we compare their position on the scale to determine which one would win if they both tried to get the same electrons.

In your example, X+ would defeat Y+ in gaining electrons. (I added the plus signs because it made no sense for a neutral atom to gain electrons and still be neutral like your example had). This is because X+ has a higher reduction potential(desire for electrons) than Y+.

If we ask if X+ can be reduced by Y, then the answer is yes. This is because if X+ and Y+ both fight for an electron, X+ will win. This means X+ will take an electron from Y and Y+ will be unable to take the electron back.

If we ask if X+ can be reduced by Y+, we would need more information to answer that. This question would be asking if Y+ would give up another electron(or electrons) to X+, and to know that we would need the reduction potential for Y2+ -> Y+ + e-

So if the reduction potential of Y2+ was lower than that of X+, then yes X+ can be reduced by y+?

 

[V5RED]

So if the reduction potential of Y2+ was lower than that of X+, then yes X+ can be reduced by y+?

Yes.