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Is there an element with multiple oxidation states in my compound?
To find out:
1. Find the oxidation state by “un-crisscrossing.”
2. Check if the element has more than one oxidation state.
N2O3
• “Un-crisscross”: N+3O-2
• (The first element always has a positive oxidation state and the second element always has a negative oxidation state.)
• Does N have multiple oxidation states? Look up Ns oxidation states on Reffy, Periodic Table (p. 9). You will find that N has a bunch of oxidation states. You will also notice that +3 is not the first oxidation state listed, so we need to use the Stock system to name this compound.
• Therefore, we can name N2O3: Nitrogen (III) Oxide
UNIT 6: MATH IN CHEMISTRY © 218