Assigning Oxidation Numbers
Please visit with me http://nobel.scas.bcit.ca/resource/ Once there, at the bottom of the page, click on "oxidation number rules" button. There, you will find that in combinations of nonmetals not involving hydrogen and oxygen, the more electronegative element is considered to be negative. N is more electronegative than C. What does that tell us for the species CN^-1? How about for CNO^-1?
+1+7 -2 +1 +2 -3 +1-2 +4 -2 +1 -2 +1 +1 -2 +4 -3
KMnO4 + KCN + H2O ==> MnO2 + KOH + KOCN
We will balance redox equations on Thursday. Be sure that you are working problems in your text.