I need help understanding how we are to come up with 12 e - because according to

Question

I need help understanding how we are to come up with 12 e- because according to the directions, we are supposed to focus on any element, but it doesn't tell us what to look for. I see how carbon has a -2 value in the reactants side and a +4 on the products side. the difference is 6 e- and we are suppose to multiply that by the number of carbons.

But is there another way to calcualte to find 12 e- ?

Couldn't we add the charges from the reactants and products after multiplying them respectively with the subscripts? For instance: -2 X 2 = -4 or 4 e- and +4 X 2 = 8 or 8 e- and so 4 e- + 8 e- = 12 e- ?

Isn't this a valid substitute than the explanation below? Because the directions below ask us to look for the difference in any of the elements. But this doesn't explain how to calulcate for hydrogen. But in the explanation I prepared above does, doesn't it?

But then again, this doesn't explain how we can calculate for oxygen, which has a 0 charge in it's own gas phase and a -2 in water and -2 in carbon dioxide.

So what would be another way to calculate for -12 e- ?

Now determine the value of n (sometimes symbolized as ve) by assigning oxidation states. It may help to show the formula for ethanol as C2H60. 2 +1-2 0 +4-2 +1 Choose one element to focus on. For example, each carbon atom goes from -2 to +4 (a change of 6 e Since there are two carbon atoms, the total change is n 12. where F- 96485 C/mol, and AG has units of J/mol. AGO nFEO Note that n is sometimes symbolized as ve.

Explanation / Answer

C2H6O   +   3 O2   -------------> 2 CO2 + 3 H2O

-2                                               +4                 -------------> oxidation state of Carbon

in C2H6O the oxidation state of C = -2

in CO2 the oxidation state of C = +4.

so there are 6 eelcctrons transfer for 1 carbon. here there are 2 CO2. so 2 carbons .

for 1 C ---------> 6 e-

for 2 C ---------> 12 e-

delta Go = - n F Eo

              = - 12 x 96485 x Eo

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