Balancing Chemical Equations

Learning Objectives
 Explain the roles of subscripts and coefficients in chemical equations.
 Balance a chemical equation when given the unbalanced equation.
 Explain the role of the law of conservation of matter in a chemical reaction.

Even though chemical compounds are broken up and new compounds are formed
during a chemical reaction, atoms in the reactants do not disappear, nor do new atoms
appear to form the products. In chemical reactions, atoms are never created or
destroyed. The same atoms that were present in the reactants are present in the
products – they are merely reorganized into different arrangements. In a complete
chemical equation, the same number of atoms must be present on the reactant and the
product sides of the equation.

Chemical Equations and the Law of Conservation of Matter

The reaction between hydrogen gas and oxygen gas to produce water in the gaseous
phase is shown as a chemical equation below:

H2 (g) + O2 (g) → H2O (g)

At the molecular level, the reaction would look something like this:

Notice that there are two oxygen atoms on the left hand side of the equation and only
one oxygen atom on the right. Where did that one oxygen atom go? Matter can't just
disappear. Once again, atoms are never created or destroyed in chemical reactions.

Now, let's consider what happens if we start with two hydrogen molecules and one
oxygen molecule:
This combination results in two water molecules being formed – there are four
hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms on the left hand side of the equation and four
hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms on the right. Any violation of the law of
conservation of matter has been avoided. The chemical equation for this reaction
above would be written as:

2 H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2 H2O (g)

This form of the chemical equation is called a balanced chemical equation. A

balanced chemical equation is one that conforms to the law of conservation of matter.

Coefficients and Subscripts

There are two types of numbers that appear in chemical equations. There
are subscripts, which are part of the chemical formulas of the reactants and products:

2H2(g)+O2(g)→2H2O(g)

2H2(g)+O2(g)→2H2O(g)

Once the formulas for the reactants and products are determined, the subscripts
may not be changed.

There are also coefficients that are placed in front of chemical formulas to indicate
how many molecules of that substance are used or produced:

2H2(g)+O2(g)→2H2O(g)

2H2(g)+O2(g)→2H2O(g)

Coefficients may be changed in order to balance the equation. The equation above
indicates that two molecules of hydrogen gas are reacting with one molecule of
oxygen gas to produce two molecules of water.

Because the identities of the reactants and products are fixed, the equation cannot be
balanced by changing the subscripts of the reactants or the products. To do so would
change the chemical identity of the species being described. For example, had
the equation for the reaction:

H2(g)+O2(g)→H2O(g)

H2(g)+O2(g)→H2O(g)

been balanced by changing the subscript for the oxygen on H2O to become H2O2, the
reaction no longer shows the production of water. The equation is indeed balanced.
However, it shows the production of hydrogen peroxide, a very different substance:
 H2(g)+O2(g)→H2O2(g)

H2(g)+O2(g)→H2O2(g)

Therefore, once again, chemical equations are balanced by changing the coefficients:

2H2(g)+O2(g)→2H2O(g)2H2(g)+O2(g)→2H2O(g)

Just like subscripts of "1" are implied in chemical formulas (the formula for water is
written as H2O and not H2O1), coefficients of "1" are also implied. In other words,
the coefficient for O2 (g) in the balanced equation above is "1", even though the
number "1" is not written.

It may also be helpful to think of coefficients in chemical equations as if they

were coefficients in algebra. Coefficients in algebra are written at the front of a term
or variable, not in the middle. Just like in algebra, a coefficient in a chemical equation
means to multiply. In other words, by writing "2 H2O", we are indicating a total of
2×2, or 4, hydrogen atoms altogether.

Balancing Chemical Equations

The simplest and most generally useful method for balancing chemical equations is
called “balancing by inspection,” also known as trial and error. There are
some strategies that may be used to reduce the number of trials and errors to wind up
with an equation that is ultimately balanced correctly.

⚓️ Strategies for Balancing Chemical Equations

1. The most complex formula should usually be balanced first.
2. The simplest formula should usually be balanced last.
3. The least common multiple between two numbers may used to determine the
coefficients.
4. Polyatomic ions (if present on both sides of the chemical equation) may be
balanced as a unit.
5. Fractional coefficients are sometimes necessary to balance the equation when
balancing the simplest formula that remains. If a fractional coefficient has
been used, multiply both sides of the equation by the denominator to obtain
whole number coefficients.
6. Count the numbers of atoms of each element on each side of the equation
to ensure the chemical equation is balanced.
✅ Example: Oxidation of Aluminum
Balance the chemical equation for the reaction of aluminum metal with oxygen gas to
produce solid aluminum oxide:
Al (s) + O2 (g) → Al2O3 (s)
Solution
1. The most complex formula is Al2O3 (s) and should be balanced first, while
the simplest formula is Al (s) and should be balanced last.

2. There are 2 oxygen atoms on the left and 3 oxygen atoms on the right. The
least common multiple between 2 and 3 is 6. To make 6 oxygen atoms on each
side, a coefficient of "3" is placed in front of O2 (g) and a coefficient of "2" is
placed in front of Al2O3 (s):
Al (s) + 3 O2 (g) → 2 Al2O3 (s)
This still leaves aluminum atoms unbalanced. At the point, there is 1 aluminum
atom on the left and 4 aluminum atoms on the right. To balance the aluminum
atoms, a coefficient of "4" is placed in front of Al (s):

A final check should be done to ensure the equation remains balanced for all
elements. Sometimes it is useful placing the information into a table and tallying
each atom of an element as the equation is being balanced.

✅ Example: Decomposition of Potassium Chlorate

Balance the chemical equation for the decomposition of solid potassium chlorate in
the presence of heat to yield solid potassium chloride and oxygen gas. Note that a
triangle appears above the arrow to indicate that heat is necessary for this reaction to
occur:
KClO3(s)−→△KCl(s)+O2(g)
KClO3(s)→△KCl(s)+O2(g)
Solution
1. The most complex formula is KClO3 (s) and should be balanced first. KCl (s)
or O2 (g) seem to be equally simple. However, it appears that potassium atoms
and chlorine atoms are already balanced, so one may begin by balancing the
oxygen atoms. Let's keep an ongoing tally this time.

There are 3 oxygen atoms on the left and 2 oxygen atoms on the right. The least
common multiple between 2 and 3 is 6. To make 6 oxygen atoms on each side, a
coefficient of "2" is placed in front of KClO3 (s) and a coefficient of "3" is placed
in front of O2 (g):
2KClO3(s)−→△KCl(s)+3O2(g)
 2KClO3(s)→△KCl(s)+3O2(g)

This now makes both potassium and chlorine atoms unbalanced. However, this is
easily remedied by placing a coefficient of "2" is placed in front of KCl (s):
2KClO3(s)−→△2KCl(s)+3O2(g)
2KClO3(s)→△2KCl(s)+3O2(g)

A final check should be done to ensure the equation remains balanced for all
elements.

✅ Example : Combustion of Butane

Balance the chemical equation for the combustion of butane liquid (C4H10) in the
presence of oxygen gas to yield carbon dioxide and water in the gaseous phase:
C4H10 (l) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g) + H2O (g)
Solution
The most complex formula is C4H10 (l) and should be balanced first, while the
simplest formula is O2 (g) and should be balanced last.

There are 4 carbon atoms on the left and 1 carbon atom on the right. The least
common multiple between 4 and 1 is 4. To make 4 carbon atoms on the right, a
coefficient of "4" is placed in front of CO2 (g):
C4H10 (l) + O2 (g) → 4 CO2 (g) + H2O (g)

There are 10 hydrogen atoms on the left and 2 hydrogen atoms on the right. The
least common multiple between 10 and 2 is 10. To make 10 hydrogen atoms on
the right, a coefficient of "5" is placed in front of H2O (g):
C4H10 (l) + O2 (g) → 4 CO2 (g) + 5 H2O (g)

Only oxygen atoms remain unbalanced, as originally desired. At the point, there
are 2 oxygen atoms on the left and 13 oxygen atoms on the right. This means it
should be possible to place a coefficient (x) in front of O2 (g) to balance the
equation:
C4H10 (l) + x O2 (g) → 4 CO2 (g) + 5 H2O (g)

It appears this is the time to employ Strategy #5 listed above, using a fractional
coefficient to balance the oxygen atoms, since we need to ask ourselves, "What
number times two would equal 13?" In algebra, this question would be written as

2x=132x=13
Dividing each side by 2, a solution for x may be found:

x=132x=132
In other words, a coefficient of "13/2" may placed in front of O2 (g):

C4H10(l)+13/2O2(g)→4CO2(g)+5H2O(g)
C4H10(l)+13/2O2(g)→4CO2(g)+5H2O(g)
As noted in Strategy #5, both sides of the equations should be multiplied by the
denominator when fractional coefficients are used in order to obtain whole
number coefficients.
2×[C4H10(l)+13/2O2(g)→4CO2(g)+5H2O(g)]
2×[C4H10(l)+13/2O2(g)→4CO2(g)+5H2O(g)]
2C4H10(l)+13/O2(g)→8CO2(g)+10H2O(g)
2C4H10(l)+13O2(g)→8CO2(g)+10H2O(g)

A final check should be done to ensure the equation remains balanced for all
elements.