Can you treat the combustion of an alkane as a redox reaction?

Subject: Can you treat the combustion of an alkane as a redox reaction?

Date: Fri Feb 11 09:39:48 2005
Posted by Dan
Grade level: 10-12 School: Fairfield Area High School
City: Fairfield State/Province: Pa Country: USA
Area of science: Chemistry
ID: 1108136388.Ch

Message:


My text states that carbon is oxidized when pentane undergoes combustion.  
It's obvious that oxygen is reduced and therefore the oxidizing agent.  
However, it is difficult to determine the oxidation number for the carbon in 
the reactant, pentane.  It can be assigned a 4+ in the product, carbon 
dioxide.  It also appears that the hydrogen is oxidized.  Is the text correct?

Re: Can you treat the combustion of an alkane as a redox reaction?

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