silver is plated on copper by immersing a piece of copper into a solution containing silver (I) ions.?

Question

in the plating reaction, copper
1. is oxidized and is the reducing agent
2. is oxidized and is the oxidizing agent
3. is reduced and is the reducing agent
4. is reduced andis the oxidizing agent

Answer 1

#1. Because:

The reaction is 2AgNO3 + Cu = Cu(NO3)2 + 2Ag

Copper goes from zero to +2. So, copper is oxidized because its oxidation number goes up. And, a material that becomes oxidized is a reducing agent.

Silver goes from +1 to zero. Silver is reduced because its oxidation number goes down. And, a material that becomes reduced is an oxidizing agent.

Answer 2

It's # 1 the copper gets oxidized and, in the process, reduces the silver ions to metallic silver, that's why it is called the reducing agent.