How to identify a particular substance …

In chemistry, an oxidizing agent (oxidant, oxidizer) is a substance that has the ability to oxidize other substances.  Common oxidizing agents are oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and the halogens. Atoms, ions, and molecules that have an unusually large affinity for electrons tend to be good oxidizing agents. Elemental fluorine, for example, is the strongest common oxidizing agent. F2 is such a good oxidizing agent that metals, quartz, asbestos, and even water burst into flame in its presence.

A reducing agent is a substance that causes another substance to reduce. So to identify an oxidizing agent, simply look at the oxidation number of an atom before and after the reaction. If the oxidation number is greater in the product, then it lost electrons and the substance was oxidized. Reducing agent (also called a reductant or reducer) is an element or compound that loses (or "donates") an electron to an electron recipient (oxidizing agent) in a redox chemical reaction. A reducing agent is thus oxidized when it loses electrons in the redox reaction.