Describe the reactions during the electrolysis of water in an electrolytic cell. Describe the reactions during the electrolysis of water in an electrolytic cell. Oxygen and hydrogen are both reduced. Oxygen is oxidized and hydrogen is reduced. Neither oxygen or hydrogen are oxidized or reduced. Oxygen and hydrogen are both oxidized. Oxygen is reduced and hydrogen is oxidized.

Oxygen is oxidized and hydrogen is reduced

Explanation:

In the electrolysis of water, a pair of Platinum electrodes are immersed in water. Th water has a small quantity of either an acid, salt or base, in most cases H2S04, added to it, to aid ionization. This is because water on its own does not posses enough ions to undergo electrolysis. At the platinum anode, water is oxidized to oxygen gas and hydrogen ions. At the platinum cathode, water is reduced to hydrogen gas and hydroxide ions.  The proportion of oxygen and hydrogen produced should be theoretically 1 : 2 respectively, but is not usually so, due to competing side reactions. The hydrogen by product is usually used as  a fuel source, and it usually combine with the hydroxide ion to form water back again.

water and alcohols have similar properties because water molecules contain hydroxyl groups that can form hydrogen bonds with other water molecules and with alcohol molecules, and likewise alcohol molecules can form hydrogen bonds with other alcohol molecules as well as with water.