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Balancing Chemical Equations

The document describes key aspects of chemical equations including: 1. Chemical equations show chemical changes using reactants on the left and products on the right separated by an arrow. 2. Subscripts indicate the number of atoms in a molecule and coefficients show the number of molecules. 3. For an equation to be balanced, the same number and types of atoms must be on both sides so matter is conserved in the reaction. Coefficients can be adjusted to balance equations while subscripts and formulas cannot be changed.

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Johnnard Belen
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124 views13 pages

Balancing Chemical Equations

The document describes key aspects of chemical equations including: 1. Chemical equations show chemical changes using reactants on the left and products on the right separated by an arrow. 2. Subscripts indicate the number of atoms in a molecule and coefficients show the number of molecules. 3. For an equation to be balanced, the same number and types of atoms must be on both sides so matter is conserved in the reaction. Coefficients can be adjusted to balance equations while subscripts and formulas cannot be changed.

Uploaded by

Johnnard Belen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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 Chemical equation - Describes a chemical change.

 Parts of an equation:

Reactant Product

2Ag + H2S Ag2S + H2

Reaction symbol
 Reactant - The chemical(s) you start with before the
reaction.
 Written on left side of equation.
 Product - The new chemical(s) formed by the
reaction.
 Right side of equation.
 Subscript - shows how many atoms of an element are
in a molecule.
 EX: H2O
 2 atoms of hydrogen (H)
 1 atom of oxygen (O)

 Coefficient - shows how many molecules there are of


a particular chemical.
 EX: 3 H2O
 Means there are 3 water molecules.
 2H2 + O2  2H2O
 In a chem. rxn, matter is neither created nor
destroyed.
 In other words, the number and type of atoms going
INTO a rxn must be the same as the number and type of
atoms coming OUT.
 If an equation obeys the Law of Conservation, it is
balanced.
 CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

1 carbon atom 1 carbon atom


4 hydrogen atoms 2 hydrogen atoms
2 oxygen atoms 3 oxygen atoms
A Balanced Equation
 CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

1 carbon atom 1 carbon atom


4 hydrogen atoms 4 hydrogen atoms
4 oxygen atoms 4 oxygen atoms
1. Matter cannot be created or destroyed.
2. Subscripts cannot be added, removed, or changed.
3. You can only change coefficients.
4. Coefficients can only go in front of chem.
formulas...NEVER in the middle of a formula.
A few extra tips:
Try balancing big formulas first; save free elements for last.
If the same polyatomic ion appears on both sides of the
equation, it’s usually okay to treat it as one unit.
There is no one particular way to balance equations. Some
equations are harder to balance than others and might require
some creativity to solve.
 Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients.

N2 + 3 H2  2NH3

reactants products

N 2 21
H 6
2 63
 Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients.

2 KClO3  2 KCl + 3 O2
reactants products

K 1
2 12
Cl 1
2 1
2
O 3
6 2
6
 Balance the following equation:
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 4 CO2 + 6H2O
 Balance the following equation:
 4 Fe +3 O2  2 Fe2O3

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