How many protons will be produced when the following redox reaction is balanced with simplest whole number ratio? H2O2 + Ce4+ → O2 + Ce3+

Question

How many protons will be produced when the following redox reaction is balanced with simplest whole number ratio? H2O2 +  Ce4+ →  O2 +  Ce3+

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To tackle this redox balance, I’ll walk through the oxidation and reduction steps and then combine them.

First, identify the species and what changes oxidation state. In H2O2, oxygen has an average oxidation state of -1. In O2, oxygen is 0. Thus, H2O2 is oxidized to O2, releasing electrons. The half-reaction for this oxidation (in acidic solution) is: H2O2 -> O2 + 2 H+ + 2 e-. This shows that each molecule of H2O2 contributes 2 electrons to the oxidation process.

Next, Ce4+ is reduced to Ce3+ by gaining electrons: Ce4+ + e- -> Ce3+. Each Ce4+ accepts 1 electron.

Now balance the electrons between the two half-reactions. The oxidation half releases 2 e- per H2O2, so to supply 4 electrons total (which matches the 4+ electrons needed to reduce 4 Ce4+), multiply the oxidation half-reaction by 2:
2 H2O2 -> 2 O2 + 4 H+ + 4 e-
And pair it with the reduction half-reaction multiplied by 4 to accept all 4 electrons:
4 Ce4+ + 4 e- -> 4 Ce3+

Combining these two balanced halves (and canceling the 4 e- on both sides) gives:
2 H2O2 + 4 Ce4+ -> 2 O2 + 4 H+ + 4 Ce3+

From the overall balanced equation, count the protons produced. The balanced equation shows 4 H+ on the product side, meaning 4 protons are produced in the process under these conditions (acidic medium).

Now evaluate the answer choices:
- Option a: 2 — This would correspond to half the amount shown in the balanced equation; it ignores the 4 e- balance and the 4 H+ generated, so it’s inconsistent with the properly balanced redox couple.
- Option b: 1 — This is far too few protons and does not align with the electron bookkeeping derived from the half-reactions; it suggests an incorrect scaling of the half-reactions.
- Option c: 4 — This matches the balanced equation derived by ensuring electron balance (4 electrons) and yields 4 protons on the product side; it is consistent with balancing in acidic solution.
- Option d: 3 — This number does not correspond to a simple even electron balance for the given redox pairs; it indicates an incorrect proportioning of electrons or protons.

Putting it together, the correct reasoning path is to balance the oxidation of H2O2 to O2 (releasing electrons) and the reduction of Ce4+ to Ce3+ (consuming electrons), scale to equal electron transfer, and count the resulting protons produced in the overall balanced equation. The result shows 4 protons are produced, corresponding to the proton count in the balanced equation.

MUF0042 Chemistry Unit 2 - Semester 2, 2025 10.13 Quiz: Balancing Redox Reactions

How many protons will be produced when the following redox reaction is balanced with simplest whole number ratio? H2O2 + Ce4+ → O2 + Ce3+

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