Oxidation and Reduction! Why make it so confusing!
Grumpy comment regarding Redox:
I think reduction and oxidation is a confusing way to refer to losing an electron or gaining an electron. Why not just call it gaining and losing? So I use OIL RIG to help me remember. And I constantly remind myself the reduction is when something is becoming more negative by adding on electrons (not really reducing anything…).
Conclusion:
As if that was not confusing enough, now we have to use redox to understand Galvanic cell and electrolytic cell. How the electrons move from one electrode to another depending on the electronegativity of the elements involved, which could lead to a spontaneous redox reaction or an electric current that would force the electron to move the opposite way of the spontaneous reaction (switching the anodes and the cathodes). Okie, enough for now…
