Question

What is the oxidation state of (CoCl6)^3-

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To determine the oxidation state of cobalt (Co) in the complex ion \((\text{CoCl}_6)^{3-}\), we can follow these steps:

1. Let the oxidation state of cobalt be \(x\).
2. Each chloride ion (Cl) has an oxidation state of \(-1\). Since there are 6 chloride ions, their total contribution to the charge is \(6 \times (-1) = -6\).
3. The overall charge of the complex ion \((\text{CoCl}_6)^{3-}\) is \(-3\).

Now we can set up the equation:

\[
x + (-6) = -3
\]

Simplifying this gives:

\[
x - 6 = -3
\]

Adding 6 to both sides:

\[
x = 3
\]

Therefore, the oxidation state of cobalt (Co) in \((\text{CoCl}_6)^{3-}\) is \(+3\).