Type of Reaction: Ethene + Steam --> Ethanol

[Colin Cheng]

Hi everyone. I'm a high school student. Recently I have been doing some past papers to prepare for the public exam in April. The reaction "ethene + steam ----> ethanol" is given and I was asked to name the type of reaction. I answered oxidation but the answer is addition. Later I asked my teacher and he said oxidation is wrong as the change in oxidation number is hard to find. What I think is simply that there's an extra O atom added to the compound. Is this thought wrong?

 

[Bystander]

... and, water has been reduced ... It's an "addition."

 

[Colin Cheng]

How can we find the change in oxidation number in the reaction? Is it possible?

 

[Bystander]

How can we find the change in oxidation number in the reaction?

In general? Count electrons.

Is it possible?

Not for an addition reaction; the single product is the combination of two reactants, one of which may have been oxidized and the other reduced. But, which is which?

 

[Colin Cheng]

Ok got it, thanks