Answer to Question #194473 in General Chemistry for emma

Question

Maria is completing her homework when she comes across a question that reads "write the chemical formula for copper oxide". But she doesn't know how to proceed. She thinks there are two answers to this question. What further information would she need from the question? What are the two possible compounds that can be made? Show their formulas.

Answer 1

The two oxides of copper are Copper (I) Oxide, Cu₂O, and Copper (II) Oxide, CuO. Further information that should be availed is the color of the copper oxide, for instance, Copper (I) Oxide is red in color while Copper (II) Oxide is black in color. Besides, the additional information can be on their oxidation states. For example, Copper (I) Oxide has an oxidation state of +1 while that of Copper (II) Oxide is +2.