25.00 ml of a 0.05 m vanadium solution was pipetted into an erlenmeyer flask. 25 ml of distilled water, 5 ml of 3 m h2so4, and approximately 12 grams of mossy zinc were also added to the flask. the solution was heated until it changed from yellow to violet in color. the solution was then filtered and titrated with a 0.2106 m kmno4 solution. when the titration reached the endpoint, it was red in color. the volume of titrant used was 31.68 ml.
when transition elements, such as vanadium, ionize, they lose their valence s electrons before losing their d electrons. vanadium has 5 valence electrons that can be lost. one of the characteristics of transition metal is their ability to adopt multiple oxidation states. vanadium exhibits four common oxidation states +5, +4, +3, and +2 each of which can be distinguished by its color: +5 - yellow, +4 - blue, +3 - green, and +2 - violet. yellow can exist in both vo3- and vo2+. given the above information, what was the oxidation state of vanadium at the beginning of the titration?