A clear visual guide to redox reactions through electron transfer, using two linked metal displacement reactions to demonstrate that oxidation and reduction do not require oxygen.

The resource follows two reactions in sequence:

Iron displaces copper from copper(II) sulfate solution – orange-brown copper is deposited while the blue solution changes to pale green iron(II) sulfate.
Zinc is then added to the iron(II) sulfate formed – zinc displaces the iron, producing colourless zinc sulfate solution and grey iron metal.

The poster includes:

Full equations and ionic equations with state symbols.
Half-equations showing exactly where electrons are lost and gained.
Identification of the species being oxidised and reduced in each reaction.
Changes in oxidation states.
A visual explanation using the reactivity series: Zn > Fe > Cu.
The role of spectator ions in moving from full equations to ionic equations.
A particularly useful comparison showing that iron is oxidised in the first reaction, while iron(II) ions are reduced in the second.

The linked sequence helps students move beyond the simpler oxygen-transfer definition of redox and understand the more fundamental definitions:

Oxidation = loss of electrons
Reduction = gain of electrons

The key message is:

Redox is about electron transfer, whether or not oxygen is present.

Suitable for GCSE, IGCSE and A-level Chemistry, particularly for teaching redox, displacement reactions, the reactivity series, ionic equations, half-equations and oxidation states.

A QR code links to FranklyChemistry, where students can view the corresponding animated sequence and explore further chemistry resources.