Chemistry · Electronic concepts of oxidation and reduction, redox reactions, oxidation number, rules for assigning oxidation number and balancing of redox reactions

On electrolysis, water splits into

On electrolysis, water splits into

  • A. positively charged hydrogen ions and negatively charged oxygen ions.
  • B. negatively charged hydrogen ions and positively charged oxygen ions
  • C. hydrogen and oxygen atoms having positive and negative charges respectively.
  • D. hydrogen and oxygen atoms having negative and positive charges respectively.

Step-by-step solution

During the electrolysis of water, water molecules dissociate into H⁺ (positively charged hydrogen ions) and OH⁻ (hydroxide ions, which contain oxygen with a negative charge). At the cathode, H⁺ gains electrons to form H₂ gas; at the anode, OH⁻ loses electrons to form O₂ gas. Thus, the initial ionic species are positively charged hydrogen ions and negatively charged oxygen-containing ions.
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