Thursday, March 16, 2017

oxidation state - How to balance more complex redox reactions?


I'm in an advanced level chemistry course, and so far we've been introduced to balancing redox reactions. The basic ones like $$\ce{MnO4- + Cl- -> Mn^2+ + Cl2}\tag1$$ are pretty easy for me, but I'm having trouble with equations where it's not apparent what I exactly need to put in my half reactions. Some examples of these kind of equations are: \begin{align} \ce{Pb + PbO2 + SO4^2- &-> PbSO4}\tag2\\ \ce{Ag(s) + CN- (aq) + O2(g) &-> [Ag(CN)2]- (aq)}\tag3\\ \ce{Cu + HNO3(aq) &-> Cu(NO3)2(aq) + NO2(g) + H2O(l)}\tag4 \end{align}


I'm not looking for solutions to any of these problems. I'm just looking for ways to correctly construct my half reactions before balancing, adding water and hydrogen ions, and balancing the charges.
Like in the first reaction on the reactants side, the first $\ce{Pb}$ has a charge of $0$ while the next one has a charge of $+4$. The $\ce{Pb}$ on the products side however has a charge of $+2$. It seems like one is being oxidized and the other reduced. And I'm also not sure what to do with the sulfate.




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