Before you get started you must first know some
deffinitions. Learn these now and be less confused later.
Oxidation: Loss of electrons, or gain of oxygen.
Reduction: Gain of electrons, or loss of oxygen.
I've seen many questions about how sulfer can be an
oxidiser in the zinc sulfer rocket fuel. This semes
simple enough so I will explain that. There is much more
to redox reactions than I have here. If you would like to
know more find a chemistry book at you local library.
In reactions between a metal( Zn) and a non metal( S)
electrons are transfered from the atoms of the metal to
the atoms of the non- metal.
The substance that donates electrons is called the
reducing agent. By losing electrons, Zn reduces S.
The substance that gains electrons is called a oxidizing
agent. By S gaining electrons in the redox reaction the S
oxidises the Zn.
This is a very simplefied way of explaining Redox. If
you would like to know more, get a chemistry book from you
library, as I said before.
