Question

Oxidation is defined as:
(A) Gain of electrons
(B) Loss of electrons
(C) Gain of neutrons
(D) Loss of neutrons

Answer 1

Hint:There are two types of chemical reactions based upon the gain or loss of electrons by atoms in a molecule. These reactions are known as oxidation and reduction. Oxidation and reduction always occur simultaneously in a reaction.

Complete step by step answer:
Oxidation, as the name suggests, is the addition of oxygen. But its modern definition is somewhat different and is related with electrons.
In a chemical reaction, the electrons are either gained or lost by an atom. The gain of the electrons is known as reduction, whereas the loss of electrons is known as oxidation.
Generally, one atom loses the electron ($s$) and gets oxidized, which electron is then gained by another atom to get reduced. Hence, both the processes occur hand-in-hand and such reactions are known as redox reactions.
Sometimes, oxidation is also defined as loss of hydrogen. Thus, we have three definitions of oxidation, that are:
(i) Gain of oxygen
(ii) Loss of hydrogen
(iii) Loss of electrons ($s$)
The oxidation process can be better understood with the help of examples:
Example,
Let’s take a reaction in which hydrogen gas and fluorine gas are reacting to give hydrofluoric acid.
${H_2}\left( g \right) + {F_2}\left( g \right) \to 2HF$
If we write the ionic equation for this reaction:
${H_2} \to 2{H^ + } + 2{e^ - }$
${F_2} + 2{e^ - } \to 2{F^ - }$
We can see that hydrogen is losing electrons and thus hydrogen is undergoing oxidation.
On the other hand, fluorine is gaining those electrons and thus it is undergoing reduction.
Hence the correct option is B i.e Loss of electrons..


Note:
There are some substances which oxidise and reduce other substances. These are known as oxidizing agents and reducing agents respectively.
The oxidizing agent donates oxygen whereas reducing agents remove oxygen from other substances and they themselves get reduced and oxidized respectively.