An octahedral complex with the formula CoCl₃·nNH₃ upon reaction with excess of AgNO₃ solution gives 2 moles of AgCl. Consider the oxidation state of Co in the complex is 'x'. The value of "x + n" is

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Strategy:
 Deduce the exact formula based on precipitation stoichiometry, then compute the required 'n' and 'x'.

Step 1: Deduce inner and outer sphere
2 moles of  form from 1 mole of the complex. This means 2 chloride ions are present outside the coordination sphere.
Formula: .

Step 2: Determine 'n'
An octahedral complex has a coordination number of 6.
Inside the brackets we have 1  + n .
Therefore, .

Step 3: Determine 'x' (oxidation state of Co)
In , the overall charge of the inner complex c

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