Thread: Combining Chemicals LESSON HELP!

If Ag+ and O (oxygen) combine would it make the chemical formula AgO . I still don't understand how to combine chemical formulas, can someone give me a simple lesson on how to combine them?

What do you mean Ag+? Almost all compounds of silver are insoluble, so they won't become aqueous to allow for a reaction of silver ions to take place.

Basically:

Silver usually has an oxidation state of +1, which means it gives one electron to the atom it bonds with. Oxygen has an oxidation state of -2 in ionic bonding, which means it accepts 2 electrons.

Because each oxygen atom needs 2 electrons and silver atoms can only give one each, each oxygen atom needs to bond with 2 silver atoms in order to get the electrons that it needs.

Therefore, the formula for silver oxide should be Ag2O, not AgO. This formula is for silver (I) oxide, and although silver (II) oxide does exist, it is very rare and probably wouldn't be part of a question you were asked.

A very simple way to determine the product of an ionic reaction is to use the criss-cross rule. Using this, you flip the oxidation states and then you have your new chemical's name. e.g. Oxygen has an oxidation state of -2, silver has an oxidation state of +1, so Ag(+1)O(-2)... Take away the positive/negative signs and flip them, to get Ag2O1 or Ag2O.

Hope that helps.

kool ty for the lesson but it was a bit confusing but wat the heck, the lesson helped