The formation of iron(III) oxide; . 4Fe + 3O 2 → 4Fe 3+ + 6O 2− → 2Fe 2 O 3. In the above equation, the Iron (Fe) has an oxidation number of 0 before and 3+ after the reaction. For oxygen (O) the oxidation number began as 0 and decreased to 2−. These changes can be viewed as two "half-reactions" that occur concurrently: Oxidation half reaction: Fe 0 → Fe 3+ + 3e −