* Chlorine (Cl) is a halogen and typically has an oxidation state of -1.
* In PCl5, there are five chlorine atoms, giving a total oxidation state of -5 for chlorine.
* The overall charge of the molecule is neutral (zero).
* To balance the -5 charge from chlorine, the phosphorus atom must have an oxidation state of +5.
Therefore, the oxidation state of phosphorus in PCl5 is +5.