Nitric acid acts only as an oxidising agent while nitrous acid acts both as an oxidising as well as reducing . Explain .

Nitric acid acts only as an oxidising agent while nitrous acid acts bo

1.	Nitric acid acts only as an oxidising agent while nitrous acid acts both as an oxidising as well as reducing . Explain .
Answer» Solution :(i) `HNO_3` Oxidation number of N in `NHO_3` is +5. Maximum oxidation number of N is +5 because it has five electrons in the valence shell `(2s^(2)2p^3)` . Minimum oxidation number of N is -3 because it can accept 3 more electrons to get noble GAS configuration. Since O.N. of N in `HNO_3` is maximum , therefore , it can only decrease . Thus , `HNO_3` can act as an oxidising AGENT. (II) `HNO_2` Oxidation number of N = +3 Maximum O.N. = +5 Minimum O.N. of N = -3 Therefore , the O.N. of N can INCREASE by losing electrons or can decrease by accepting electrons. Thus, `HNO_2` can act both as an oxidising as oxidising as well as a reducing agent.