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jgens
Gold Member
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Just a brief question on oxidation numbers. My textbook says "the oxidation number of the more electronegative atom in a moledule or a complex ion is the same as the charge it would have if it were an ion." However, when considering compounds like hydrazine N2H4, Nitrogen is clearly the more electronegative element, however, it is assigned an oxidation number of -2. Am I misunderstanding something or is my textbook perhaps making large generalizations?