You can't throw a ball without someone catching it. In redox, you can't oxidise something without reducing something else — simultaneously, in the same reaction.
🔬 Word Origin
🧪 Choose a Reaction
⚡ Arrow Drawer — Click to Connect Pairs
Click a reactant, then click its product to draw the bridge. Which species is oxidised? Which is reduced?
4Fe + 3O₂ → 2Fe₂O₃
⚠️ The "Half-Game" Trap
Can oxidation happen completely on its own in a beaker — without any reduction occurring?
🎓 Cambridge Exam Keywords
Oxidation
Loss of electrons / Increase in oxidation number
Reduction
Gain of electrons / Decrease in oxidation number
Oxidising agent
The species that accepts electrons (it is reduced)
Reducing agent
The species that donates electrons (it is oxidised)
🪤 Examiner Trap
Students often say "iron is reduced because it gains oxygen."Wrong! When iron gains oxygen it is OXIDISED (increases oxidation number). Reduction means loss of oxygen or gain of electrons.
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