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Lesson 13 Balancing Equation by Inspection

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Lesson 13 Balancing Equation by Inspection

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Joycee Dh
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WMSU-ISMP-GU-001.

00
Effective Date: 7-DEC-2016

Balancing Equation by Inspection


Lesson (14)

Introduction

A balanced equation obeys the Law of Conservation of Mass and to balance by


inspection it is simply done by putting coefficients (number) before any of the formulas. The
coefficient is a multiplication factor of each of the atom in the formula. And putting of
coefficients before the formulas should be done until there is exactly the same number of each
atom on both sides of the equation.

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you can:
1. balance an equation by inspection.

Try this!
Equation:
C2H6(g) + O2(g) → CO2(g) + H2O(g)
Consider the reaction above.
1.) Fill- up Table C below by writing the number of atoms in the columns labelled reactants
and products. For, example in C2H6 there are 2 carbons while in CO2 there is only 1 carbon.

Table C
Atom Reactants Products
C 2 1
H
O
Are the number of atoms in the reactants and products the same? _________
Which atom has the same number? _________
Which atoms have different numbers? _________

2.) To make the number of atoms the same, write a coefficient (number) before the formula.
Make sure that the coefficient that you will write before C2H6(g), O2(g), CO2(g) and H2O(g)
are in the lowest possible number and fill-up Table D.
C2H6(g) + O2(g) → CO2(g) + H2O(g)
Table D
Atom Reactants Products
C
H
O

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WMSU-ISMP-GU-001.00
Effective Date: 7-DEC-2016

Are the numbers of atoms the same? _________


If YES, inspect the ratio of the coefficients of the reactants and products.
If NO, repeat number 2.) by using other coefficients until there are exactly the same number of
each atom on both sides of the equation.
Is the ratio of the coefficients of reactants and products in the lowest term? ________
If YES, maybe you were able to balance the equation.
If NO, reduce the ratio to its lowest term.
Check your answer.

Think ahead!

1. What should you take note before balancing an equation?


________________________________________________________________________

2. When can balancing by inspection be easy?


________________________________________________________________________

3. When can balancing by inspection be difficult?


________________________________________________________________________

4. What will you do to fast track balancing an equation by inspection?


________________________________________________________________________

4. How will you know if the equation is correctly balanced?


________________________________________________________________________

Read and Ponder

Guidelines to balance simple equations by inspection.1


1. Write a correct chemical equation.

2. Start balancing the more complex part – that is, the compounds that have several elements
in them.
3. Balance hydrogen and oxygen by putting in water, if necessary, after all other elements have
been balanced.
4. Leave any elements in the free state until last since changing the coefficients on these only
changes that one kind of atom.
5. For reactions involving polyatomic ions, balance the ion as a group. For example, with
SO42-, balance as sulfate ions, not as S atoms and O atoms.
6. Generally, if fractions appearin an equation, we multiply everyting by the smallest number
that will eliminate the fraction. Also, make sure at the end that all coefficients are in the
lowest possible ratio.

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WMSU-ISMP-GU-001.00
Effective Date: 7-DEC-2016

See if you can do this!

Balance the equations by inspection.

1.) MgSO4∙7H2O(s) Δ MgSO4(s) + H2O(l)

2.) Al(s) + SnCl2(aq) → AlCl3(aq) + Sn(s)

3.) Na2O(s) + H2O(l) → NaOH(aq)

4.) Ba(NO3)2(aq) + NaOH(aq) → Ba(OH)2(s) + NaNO3(aq)

5.) H3PO4(aq) + NaOH(aq) → H2O(l) + Na3PO4(s)

Hurray!! You have done good job!

REFERENCES

1. Fundamentals of Chemistry, Fred H. Redmore, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Engelwood Cliffs, New


Jersey 07632, Reprinted 1980, Special Philippine Edition, p.43
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_equation
3. http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/chemical-equation-additional-symbols-
used-chemical-equations.html
4. General Chemistry, H. Stephen Stoker, Copyright 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company

APPENDIX

For better understanding of the topics discussed please refer yourself to the following learning
resources.

A. Enhancement Reading Materials and Videos

1. http://www.chemsimplified.com/balancing-chemical-equations/

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