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A reducing agent brings about the reduction of another substance. What happens to the reducing agent itself?
AIt becomes oxidized in the process
BIt becomes reduced in the process
CIt stays chemically unchanged here
DIt becomes a spectator ion instead
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. It becomes oxidized in the process
1. A reducing agent hands electrons to another species.
2. Receiving those electrons reduces the other species.
3. Giving electrons away means the agent itself is oxidized.
4. Sodium reduces chlorine and is oxidized from 0 to +1 while doing so.
5. An oxidizing agent works the other way round: it is the species that gets reduced.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Stoichiometry of Chemical Reactions", section 4.2 Classifying Chemical Reactions_
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