Question

Justify the following reaction is a redox reaction.

CuO_(s) + H_2(g) →  Cu_(s) + H₂O_(g)

Answer 1

In the above reaction, oxygen is removed from CuO. So CuO gets reduced. Oxygen is added to H₂ to form water. So H₂ gets oxidised.

i.e, In CuO, oxidation number of Cu +2 is reduced to O whereas in H₂ , oxidation of H₂O is increased to + 1. So the above reaction is a redox reaction.