ANSWERS

Unit 2 Chemistry
Balancing Reduction and Oxidation Half Reactions Using KOHES

You can use the KOHES method to balance more complicated oxidation and
reduction half equations involving compounds containing O and/or H, in acidic
solutions.

The acronym KOHES stands for:

Step 1 Key element (eg. Mn, V, Cl) (key element is NOT O or H)
Step 2 Oxygen, balance by adding H2O
Step 3 Hydrogen, balance by adding H+ ions
Step 4 Electrons, balance by adding e- to the more positive side
Step 5 States, add states (remember e- do NOT have states!)

Example

Permanganate ions MnO4- reduced to Mn2+ ions

Step 1 K MnO4- Mn2+ (Manganese Mn is the Key Element)

Step 2 O MnO4- Mn2+ + 4H2O (add 4H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H MnO4- + 8H+ Mn2+ + 4H2O (add 8 H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E MnO4- + 8H+ + 5e- Mn2+ + 4H2O (add 5e- to LHS)
Step 5 S MnO4-(aq) + 8H+(aq) + 5e- Mn2+(aq) + 4H2O(l)
Problems:

Write ionic half equations for the following reduction half reactions

1. Dichromate ions Cr2O72- to Cr3+ ions

2. Dithionite ion S2O42- to thiosulfate ions S2O32-
3. Nitrate ions NO3- to nitric oxide gas NO
4. Sulfate ions SO42- to sulphur dioxide gas SO2
5. Hypochlorite ions OCl- to chloride ions Cl-
6. Oxygen gas to water
7. Solid iodine I2 to iodide ions I-

Write ionic half equations for the following oxidation half reactions

1. Sulfite ions SO32- to sulphate ions SO42-

2. Hydrogen sulphide H2S to sulphur S
3. Ethanol C2H5OH to ethanoic acid CH3COOH
4. Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 to O2
5. Carbon monoxide CO to carbon dioxide
6. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) C6H8O6 to dehydroascorbic acid C6H6O6
7. Thiosulfate ion S2O32- to tetrathionate ion S4O62-
8. Oxalate ions (COO)22- to carbon dioxide
Answers:

Write ionic half equations for the following reduction half reactions

1. Dichromate ions Cr2O72- to Cr3+ ions

Step 1 K Cr2O72- 2Cr3+ (Chromium Cr is the Key Element)

Step 2 O Cr2O72- 2Cr3+ + 7H2O (add 7H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H Cr2O72- + 14H+ 2Cr3+ + 7H2O (add 14 H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E Cr2O72- + 14H+ + 6e- 2Cr3+ + 7H2O (add 6e- to LHS)
Step 5 S Cr2O72-(aq) + 14H+(aq) + 6e- 2Cr3+(aq) + 7H2O(l)

2. Dithionite ion S2O42- to thiosulfate ions S2O32-

Step 1 K S2O42- S2O32- (Sulfur S is the Key Element)

Step 2 O S2O42- S2O32- + H2O (add 1H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H S2O42- + 2H+ S2O32- + H2O (add 2H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E S2O42- + 2H+ + 2e- S2O32- + H2O (add 2e- to LHS)
Step 5 S S2O42- (aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2e- S2O32- (aq) + H2O(l)

3. Nitrate ions NO3- to nitric oxide gas NO

Step 1 K NO3- NO (Nitrogen N is the Key Element)

Step 2 O NO3- NO + 2H2O (add 2H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H NO3- + 4H+ NO + 2H2O (add 4H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E NO3- + 4H+ + 3e- NO + 2H2O (add 3e- to LHS)
Step 5 S NO3-(aq) + 4H+(aq) + 3e- NO(g) + 2H2O(l)

4. Sulfate ions SO42- to sulphur dioxide gas SO2

Step 1 K SO42- SO2 (Sulfur S is the Key Element)

Step 2 O SO42- SO2 + 2H2O (add 2H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H SO42- + 4H+ SO2 + 2H2O (add 4H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E SO42- + 4H+ + 2e- SO2 + 2H2O (add 2e- to LHS)
Step 5 S SO42-(aq) + 4H+(aq) + 2e- SO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)
 5. Hypochlorite ions OCl- to chloride ions Cl-

Step 1 K OCl- Cl- (Chlorine Cl is the Key Element)

Step 2 O OCl- Cl- + H2O(add 1H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H OCl- + 2H+ Cl- + H2O (add 2H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E OCl- + 2H+ + 2e- Cl- + H2O (add 2e- to LHS)
Step 5 S OCl- (aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2e- Cl- (aq) + H2O(l)

6. Oxygen gas O2 to water H2O

Step 1 K O2 H2O (No Key Element)

Step 2 O O2 2H2O (add 1H2O to RHS)
Step 3 H O2 + 4H+ 2H2O (add 4H+ to LHS)
Step 4 E O2 + 4H+ + 4e- 2H2O (add 4e- to LHS)
Step 5 S O2(g) + 4H+(aq) + 4e- 2H2O(l)

7.Solid iodine I2 to iodide ions I-

Step 1 K I2 2I- (Iodine I is Key Element)

Step 2 O I2 2I- (no need to add water)
Step 3 H I2 2I- (no need to add H+)
Step 4 E I2 + 2e- 2I- (add 2e- to LHS)
Step 5 S I2 (s) + 2e- 2I-(aq)

Write ionic half equations for the following oxidation half reactions

1. Sulfite ions SO32- to sulphate SO42-

Step 1 K SO32- SO42- (Sulfur S is the Key Element)

Step 2 O SO32- + H2O SO42- ( 1H2O added to LHS)
Step 3 H SO32- + H2O SO42- + 2H+ (2H+ added to RHS)
Step 4 E SO32- + H2O SO42- + 2H+ + 2e-(add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S SO32-(aq) + H2O (l) SO42-(aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2e-

2. Hydrogen sulphide gas H2S to sulphur S

Step 1 K H2S S (Sulfur S is the Key Element)

Step 2 O H2S S ( no O needs to be added)
Step 3 H H2S S + 2H+ (2H+ added to RHS)
Step 4 E H2S S + 2H+ + 2e-(add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S H2S (g) S (s) + 2H+(aq) + 2e-
 3. Ethanol C2H5OH to ethanoic acid CH3COOH

Step 1 K C2H5OH CH3COOH (Carbon C is the Key Element)

Step 2 O C2H5OH + H2O CH3COOH ( H2O added to LHS)
Step 3 H C2H5OH + H2O CH3COOH + 4H+ (4H+ added to RHS)
Step 4 E C2H5OH + H2O CH3COOH + 4H+ + 4e- (add 4e- to RHS)
Step 5 S C2H5OH(aq) + H2O(l) CH3COOH(aq) + 4H+(aq) + 4e-

4. Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 to O2

Step 1 K H2O2 O2 (no Key Element)

Step 2 O H2O2 O2 ( no water needs to be added)
Step 3 H H2O2 2H+ + O2 (2H+ added to RHS)
Step 4 E H2O2 2H+ + O2 + 2e- (add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S H2O2(aq) 2H+(aq) + O2(g) + 2e-

5. Carbon monoxide CO to carbon dioxide CO2

Step 1 K CO CO2 (Carbon C is Key Element)

Step 2 O CO + H2O CO2 ( 1H2O added to LHS)
Step 3 H CO + H2O CO2 + 2H+ (2H+ added to RHS)
Step 4 E CO + H2O CO2 + 2H+ + 2e- (add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S CO(g) + H2O(l) CO2(g) + 2H+(aq) + 2e-

6. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) C6H8O6 to C6H6O6

Step 1 K C6H8O6 C6H6O6 (Carbon C is Key Element)

Step 2 O C6H8O6 C6H6O6 ( no water to be added)
Step 3 H C6H8O6 C6H6O6 + 2H+ (2H+ added to RHS)
Step 4 E C6H8O6 C6H6O6 + 2H+ + 2e- (add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S C6H8O6(s) C6H6O6(aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2e-
 7. Thiosulfate ion S2O32- to S4O62-

Step 1 K 2S2O32- S4O62- (Sulfur S is Key Element)

Step 2 O 2S2O32- S4O62- (no water added)
Step 3 H 2S2O32- S4O62- (no H+ added)
Step 4 E 2S2O32- S4O62- + 2e- (add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S 2S2O32-(aq) S4O62-(aq) + 2e-

8. Oxalate ions (COO)22- to carbon dioxide

Step 1 K (COO)22- 2CO2 (Carbon C is the Key Element)

Step 2 O (COO)22- 2CO2 ( no water needs to be added)
Step 3 H (COO)22- 2CO2 (no H+ need to be added)
Step 4 E (COO)22- 2CO2 + 2e- (add 2e- to RHS)
Step 5 S (COO)22- (aq) 2CO2(g) + 2e-