h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Oxidation Numbers and The Naming Of Compounds - A1049069
Author: Iridium - U220654

Mystrunner started this entry and I had a go at finishing it. It serves as a brief introduction to oxidation states and how chemical compounds are named as a result, it's not meant to be too heavy going, just basic. Anyway, comments welcome

Hi,

It's always nice to see a scientific entry in the guide, but I do think this is going to need a bit of a rewrite, because to understand it I had to remember my A level chemistry!

Any suggestions how?

We do have some pretty full-blown scientific entries in the Guide and a lot of what is said is sometimes hard to reduce. Mmmmm... what shall we do? Are we happy for this to go in, yet? Any scientists out there? Help!

(dons white coat)
Right: some minor points

First, one rule which hasn't been mentioned is that all the oxidation numbers of all the atoms in a neutral chemical compound add up to zero.
Second, one naming rule which people wonder about when they are first taught chemistry, which is never satisfactorily explained and hence ought to be in here is that of the mixed hydrogen/alkali metal salts. Na2CO3 is sodium carbonate, but NaHCO3 is sodium bicarbonate. Similarly, we have sodium sulphate Na2SO4 and sodium bisulphate NaHSO4. The reason behind this eccentric rule is that it's a historical hangover from the days when elemental analysis wasn't particularly accurate. It couldn't measure amounts of hydrogen (which doesn't weigh much) with any great degree of accuracy and often overlooked it, so NaHCO3 *appeared* to be NaCO3, which would have had a carbonate:sodium ratio twice that of kosher sodium carbonate. Hence the term 'bicarbonate'.

FM

Wow! Excellent. Iridium, what say you? I think we'll keep this in PR for a little while longer so that the author can address these comments. Have a great weekend.

Hello, just got back from holiday. That's quite a good example of the quirkiness of chemical naming, I might just paraphrase you on that one, te he I'll get around to having a go at it sometime soon, touch busy at moment

Hi Sam

Suggested changes have been made

I would have made slightly more of the -ite suffix and given it a listing more like the previous -ate and -ide ones. There's also hydrogen peroxide to add to any per- etc list.

Although the periodic table groups are listed, I don't see any link to The Periodic Table of Elements itself. I think that would be helpful. There's one at A593110 which then links to external ones.

I might also have made more of the uncertain status of hydrogen which is only touched on with the +1 and -1 bit under classification. I couldn't see any attempt to expand on the metal versus non-metal classification. Perhaps there's an article on that somewhere in the EG. If not then there probably should be.

In case it gets missed in sub-editing, "sulpahtes" should be "sulphates".

'There's also hydrogen peroxide to add to any per- etc list.'
Does periodic acid dissolve Periodic Tables?

I don't know but while I was typing the previous message I thought there really ought to be a joke in there somewhere about occasional tables. You presumably already know the "what are they the rest of the time?" one. But the periodic table isn't very periodic and it has episodes of being episodic and I'd like to table the motion that it isn't much of a table with all those gaps unless they are made into folding out flaps for when you invite the otherwise undesirable elements round for a bonding session.

Oh God, what *have* I started here?

Well it's no good appealing to the non-existent supernatural element. Just where do you think it would fit in the table anyway. It might be seen under the table perhaps after enough mind-altering substances and a bit of oxidation.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

for iridium

Not a good idea, Spelugx. He shouldn't be operating expensive/dangerous scientific equipment while drunk. Besides which he might use it as a reactant in some experiment or other...

PS I'll poke him into checking here if there's any point. We've all been rather busy elsewhere with some very deluded people.

PPS I suppose my suggested fixes/improvements won't be made now then.

SEF, if you want, you can post them on my homepage and when the entry finally gets back to us in-house I can slip them in - assuming they're appropriate! I'm sure they will be.

SEF, it's good practise for <./>subeditors</.> to check back to the PR threads (especially when the scouts include them *hint!*) so that they can incorporate suggestions made after the entry has been picked. Most subeditors are very helpful and will listen to any suggestions made (and then ignore them ).

spelugx

Are you claiming to be the helpful/unhelpful subeditor or the hinting or hinted at scout?

All of them