DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

UNIVERSITI PENDIDIKAN SULTAN IDRIS

LABORATORY REPORT
SKT 1013: INTRODUCTION TO INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Semester 2 Sessions 2017/2018

ID NUMBER AND NAME 1. DAYANG NOORAMINAH BINTI

ABD RAHMAN
(E20161014045)
2. SYAHRIZAT BINTI ZAINAL
(E20161014047)

3. MUHAMMAD FAKHRUDDIN BIN AHMAD YANI

(E20161014005)

C
GROUP

LECTURER PROF. DR. MUSTAFFA BIN AHMAD

EXPERIMENT NO. 3

TITLE OXIDATION STATES OF MANGANESE

DATE 30 NOV 2017

INTRODUCTION

Manganese is a silver metallic element with an atomic number of 25 and a chemical

symbol of Mn. It is not found as an element in nature. It occurs in many minerals such as
manganite, purpurite, rhodonite, rhodochrosite and pyrolusite. It is also found in many
mineraloids such as psilomelane and wad. Manganese is a gray-white, hard, brittle, metal that
can take a high polish. It is not magnetic. The metal tarnishes on exposure to air and, when
heated, oxidizes to manganese (II, III) oxide (Mn3O4). Like other transition metals,
manganese has more than one common oxidation state. The most stable is +2, which is a pale
pink color in aqueous solutions. Also important is +4, brown/black, which is found in
manganese dioxide; and +7 found in the purple permanganate anion MnO4–. Manganese +6
oxidation state is green.

In this experiment the various oxidation states that are formed by the redox reaction of
permanganate ion and the bisulfite ion, have been studied. The reducing agent that was used
was sodium bisulfate. The redox reaction was studied in acidic, basic and neutral aqueous
solutions. In the acidic solution the oxidation state of manganese was +2 and the oxidation
state of sulfur was +6 in neutral solution the oxidation state of manganese was +3 and the
oxidation state of sulfur was +6 and in basic solution the oxidation state of manganese was
+6 and the oxidation state of sulfur was +6.

OBJECTIVE

To illustrate the colours of several oxidation state of manganate

REAGENTS

3 M H2SO4 sulfuric acid

2.0 M NaOH sodium hydroxide

0.01 M KMnO4 potassium permanganate

0.02 M NaHSO3 sodium bisulfite

0.02 M NaHSO4 sodium bisulfate

APPARATUS
Test tubes

Graduated cylinder

PROCEDURES

1. 1 mL of KMnO4 was placed in each of 4 test tubes.

2. 2 mL of NaOH was added to test tube 2. Then, 2 mL of NaHSO3 was added while
stirring with glass rod until there was evidence of a reaction. The evidence was noted
and recorded for reaction.
3. 2 mL of NaHSO4 was added to test tube 3. Then, 5 mL of NaHSO3 was added while
stirring with glass rod until there was evidence of a reaction. The evidence was noted
and recorded for reaction.
4. 2 mL of NaHSO3 was slowly added to test tube 4. while stirring with glass rod until
there was evidence of a reaction. The evidence was noted and recorded for reaction.
5. The effect of replacing NaHSO3 with NaHSO4 was predicted. The prediction was
tested.

RESULT

Figure 1: Result of Oxidation State of Manganese (NaHSO3 and NaHSO4)

 Test Tube NaHSO3 NaHSO4
1 Dark Purple Dark Purple
2 Dark Green Dark Purple
3 Dark Pink Dark Pink
4 Ruby Reddish Purple
Table 1: Result of Oxidation State of Manganese

DISCUSSION

Oxidation numbers or oxidation states are assigned to atoms in molecules to show the
general distribution of electrons among the bonded atoms. In assigning oxidation numbers,
“ownership” of the bonding electrons is given to the more electronegative atom in each bond.
Unlike ionic charges, oxidation numbers do not have an exact physical meaning. In its
compounds, manganese exhibits oxidation states of a +2 up to a +7. The more common
oxidation states are +2, +4 and +7. Since the colours of the six oxidation states are all
different, we had discovered which colour represents each individual oxidation state by
determining the oxidizing and reducing species in each reaction.

For first experiment, we use sodium bisulfite (NaHSO3) and sodium bisulfate
(NaHSO4) for second experiment. In first experiment, the colour of the solution in test tube 1
is dark purple because there is no reaction in the solution. For test tube 2, the colour of
solution turns to dark green and solution in test tube 4 turns to ruby. The colour of the
solution in test tube 3 turns to dark pink. The colour in these test tubes are changing because
of the reaction between KMnO4, NaOH, H2SO4 and NaHSO3.

The reaction between NaHSO3 and KMnO4 in a basic solution can be described with
the following equation:

2KMnO4 + 3NaHSO3 + 2NaOH + 2H2O → NaOH + Na2MnO4 + NaHMnO4 + K2SO4 +

NaHSO3 + 3H2O
 The dark green solution indicates that the oxidation state of manganese is +6, it shows
the existence of the manganate ion, MnO42- in the basic solution (test tube 2). The oxidation
state of sulfur in the NaHSO3 in this test tube is +4. The sodium bisulfite functions here as a
reducing agent and the oxidation state of sulfur increases from +4 to +6. HSO3- is converted
to the sulfite ion SO32-.

The reaction between NaHSO3 and KMnO4 in a acid solution can be described with
the following equation:

KMnO4 + H2SO4 + NaHSO3 + H2O → H2SO4 + MnSO4 + K2SO4 + Na2SO4 + NaHSO4 +

H2O

The dark pink solution in the test tube shows that the oxidation state of manganese is
+2, it shows that Mn2+ exists in the acidic solution. The manganate ion MnO42- has been
reduced to Mn2+.

Sodium bisulfite is the reducing agent in this redox reaction. The oxidation state of
sulfur increases to +6. In this acidic solution sodium bisulfite is converted into sulfurous acid
H2SO3 and is oxidized into the bisulfate ion HSO4-.

For second experiment, the colour of the solution in test tube 1 and 2 has turned to
dark purple. For test tube 3, it turns to dark pink and the colour of solution in test tube 4 has
turned to reddish purple. These shown that it has reaction in test tube 3 and 4. KMnO4 and
H2SO4 has reacted to NaHSO4. We added NaHSO3 and NaHSO4 bit by bit for 5 times and stir
it to make sure the solution mixed correctly.

CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, The +2 oxidation state of Manganese results from removal of the
two 4s electrons, leaving a "high spin" ion in which all five of the 3d orbitals contain a single
electron. The dark pink color of the solution is the result of the absorption of almost all
visible light by this ion. Manganese exists in the +6 oxidation state as the manganate ion,
MnO42-, this ion is dark green in color and is only stable in basic solution.
 The reducing agent in this reaction was sodium bisulfite: NaHSO3. The oxidation
state for sulfur in sodium bisulfite is +4 and increases to +6. In neutral solutions the bisulfate
ion HSO3- exists and in basic solutions it is oxidized to the sulfate ion SO42-. In an acidic
solution it is oxidized to sulfuric acid, H2SO3.

QUESTIONS

1. NaHSO3 is frequently used to remove brown rust stains. Suggest a reason for this use.
What must be known about the rust stains to make this suggestion consistent with
principles?

Sodium bisulfite is a mild reducing agent, and can react with iron (III) oxide, reducing
the iron, and oxidizing the sulfur to its sulfate form.

2. Predict the outcome if a student mistakenly uses NaHSO4 instead of NaHSO3.

NaHSO4 is not a reducing agent. No reactions are expected to occur.

3. Suggest a reason why aqueous solutions of KMnO4 are unstable.

Potassium permanganate is a deep purple ionic solid which has many uses as an
oxidizing agent. It is readily soluble in water. At the surface of the ionic solid,
molecules of the solvent interact with the potassium and permanganate ions. The
positive hydrogen end is oriented towards the permanganate ions. While the negative
oxygen end of the water dipole is oriented towards the positively-charged potassium
ions. As the ions interact with water molecules, they are drawn from the surface,
surrounded by solvent and move independently. The KMnO4 is extremely reactive.
Solutions of NaHSO3 are readily air oxidized.
REFERENCE

A. Book

1. T.W. Swaddle. 1997. Inorganic Chemistry: An Industrial and Environmental

Perspective. Academic Press. Page 117-123.

2. P. A. Cox. 2004. Inorganic Chemistry – Second Edition. BIOS Scientific Publishers.

Page 33-37.

3. Gary L. Miessler, Donald A. Tarr. Inorganic Chemistry – Third Edition. Pearson

Education, Inc. Page 244-350.

B. Internet

1. Jim Clark. 2003. An Introduction to Oxidation State

https://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/complexions/whatis.html

(Retrieved date: 5 Disember 2017)

2. Jim Clark. 2003. Oxidation States of Manganese

https://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/complexions/manganese.html

(Retrieved date: 5 Disember 2017)

3. Lanthanum K. 2012. Oxidation States

http://lanthanumkchemistry.over-blog.com/article-oxidation-states-103803570.html

(Retrieved date: 5 Disember 2017)