ABSTRACT
In the twentieth century, it came to be realized that whenever a substance underwent an oxidation it lost electrons. There are two rules of oxidation and reduction that simply must be learned: to be oxidized is to lose electrons, whereas to be reduced is to gain electrons. If life is all about electrons, it stands to reason that one should first understand the nature of what are called electrons. Most of the elements in nature exist in combination with other elements because some elements like to give up their electrons, while other elements like to accept them. One of the simplest redox reactions is the oxidation of hydrogen using oxygen as the electron acceptor. Oxidation and reduction are all about electrons and all life depends on such reactions. But electrons also relate to common environmental measurements, particularly the test for chemical oxidation demand and biochemical oxygen demand.
