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Redox Reactions definitions

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  • Redox Reaction
    A chemical process involving the transfer of electrons between reactants, resulting in changes to their oxidation numbers.
  • Oxidation
    A process where a substance loses electrons, causing its oxidation number to increase and its charge to become more positive.
  • Reduction
    A process where a substance gains electrons, causing its oxidation number to decrease and its charge to become more negative.
  • Electron Transfer
    The movement of negatively charged particles from one reactant to another, central to redox reactions.
  • Oxidation Number
    A value representing the effective charge of an atom, which increases with electron loss and decreases with electron gain.
  • Oxidizing Agent
    A substance that causes another to lose electrons and is itself reduced during a redox reaction.
  • Reducing Agent
    A substance that causes another to gain electrons and is itself oxidized during a redox reaction.
  • LEO the Lion
    A mnemonic device summarizing that losing electrons is oxidation, aiding memory for redox processes.
  • GER
    A mnemonic indicating that gaining electrons is reduction, helping recall the direction of electron flow.
  • Charge
    An electrical property that becomes more positive with electron loss and more negative with electron gain in redox.
  • Reactant
    A starting material in a chemical process that undergoes electron transfer in redox reactions.
  • Substance
    A chemical species whose oxidation number and charge can change during electron transfer.
  • Agent
    A participant in a redox process that facilitates electron loss or gain in another substance.