Biology / Unit 3 Bio 0534 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Redox Reactions
Captions available
The idea
A redox reaction pairs oxidation, the loss of an electron, with reduction, the gain of one, since a lost electron always transfers somewhere else.
In practice
As a carbon atom is oxidized during glucose breakdown, the electrons it loses reduce a nearby electron-carrier molecule.
Where people slip
Oxidation and reduction always occur together in one reaction — neither happens to a molecule in isolation.
Your place on the trail
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Builds on
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