| the state of an element or ion in a compound with regard to the electrons gained or lost by the element or ion in the reaction that formed the compound, expressed as a positive or negative number indicating the ionic charge of the element or ion. |
| Main Entry: | oxidation number |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | the degree of oxidaton of an atom or molecule, represented by a positive or negative number; the number of electrons theoretically gained or lost in converting an atom or molecule to its elemental form; also called oxidation state |
| Example: | The oxidation number is number of electrons necessary to restore an atom in a combined state to its elemental form. |
| oxidation state
See valence. |
oxidation number
the total number of electrons that an atom either gains or loses in order to form a chemical bond with another atom.
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