Answer to Question #258348 in Inorganic Chemistry for Good heart

Question

Decribe how scientist would proceed from the formulation of a question to the establishment of theory .

Read about structure of atom as well as periodic table, keep in mind reactivity; isotope, Bohr model of atom and Aufbau process, compared the oxidation number and formal charges of hydrogen in molecules; H2, BeH2 and H2O

Answer 1

The first step is to make an observation about the world around you. Before hypotheses can be made or experiments can be done, one must first notice and think about some sort of phenomena occurring.

Next, one must ask a question based on their observations. For example,

• Why is this thing occurring?
• How is this thing occurring?

Next is forming a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated guess to explain the phenomena occurring based on prior observations. It answers the question posed in the previous step. But all hypotheses must be testable by gathering evidence that can be measured. If a hypothesis is not testable, then it is impossible to perform an experiment to determine whether the hypothesis is supported by evidence.

Next is performing an experiment. After forming a hypothesis, an experiment must be set up and performed to test the hypothesis. An experiment must have an independent variable and a dependent variable..All other variables must be controlled so that they do not affect the outcome. During an experiment, data is collected.

Scientists gather samples for an exexperiment.

Next is analyzing data. After performing an experiment and collecting data, one must analyze the data. Research experiments are usually analyzed with statistical software in order to determine relationships among the data.

The last step is to form a conclusion. When a conclusion is drawn, the research can be presented to others to inform them of the findings and receive input about the validity of the conclusion drawn from the research.

The oxidation number for elemental hydrogen, H2, is 0

Hydrogen has an oxidation number of +1 in water because it has lost one electron. Because the single oxygen atom has received a total of two electrons, one from each hydrogen, oxygen has an oxidation number of +2.

The oxidation number of beryllium in beryllium dihydride is 2.