# Oxidation state of sulfur in H2S2O5

How can I find the oxidation state of sulfur in $\ce{H2S2O5}$ using its structure?

This is the structure of $\ce{H2S2O5}$:

• Consider every bond and which way it is polarized. – Ivan Neretin Jan 17 '16 at 1:25
• S-S bond is not polarized. Both sulphur will have different oxidation states – Aditya Dev Jan 17 '16 at 1:31
• How can I find the oxidation of sulphur @Mithoron using the structure? Are there any rules to be followed? – Aditya Dev Jan 17 '16 at 2:03
• It looks like homework... Hmm, chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/35343/… is analogical – Mithoron Jan 17 '16 at 2:18
• @Mithoron: if I take $x$ as the oxidation state of sulphur, $2+2x-10=0$, $x=4$. But Wikipedia says 5 and 3. – Aditya Dev Jan 17 '16 at 2:21

• While technically correct and nicely painted, this answer provides little explanation as to its conclusion. How do we know that O is -2 and H is +1, really? Are they always this way? Well, good like trying to apply that to $\ce{H2O2}$. – Ivan Neretin Jan 17 '16 at 16:46