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Pchem Balancing Equations

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16 views

Pchem Balancing Equations

Uploaded by

shotiti69
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Balancing Chemical

Equations
What is a chemical equation?
•Chemical equation - Describes a chemical
change
•Parts of an equation = Reactant & Product
Reactant Product

2Ag + H2S Ag2S + H2

Reaction symbol
Reactants and Products

•Reactant - The chemical(s)/element(s) you


start with before the reaction occurs
Think “Raw” Materials!
•Written on left side of equation…
•Where the “arrow” begins
•Product - The new chemical(s)/elements
formed by the reaction
•Right side of equation…
•Where the “arrow” points
Subscripts and Coefficients
•You should already know this from counting
atoms!

•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.
A Chemical Reaction
•2H2 + O2 🡪 2H2O
Law of Conservation of Mass
•You should know THIS, too!
•In a chemical reaction, matter is neither
created nor destroyed
•In other words, the number and type of
atoms going INTO a reaction MUST be
the same as the number and type of atoms
coming OUT
•If an equation obeys the Law of
Conservation, it is balanced.
An Unbalanced Equation
•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

NOT THE SAME!


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

BOTH ARE EQUAL!


Rules of the Game
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 chemical
formulas...NEVER in the middle of a formula.

A few extra tips:


⚫Try balancing big formulas first; save the free elements for
last
⚫If the same polyatomic ion appears on both sides of the
equation, it’s 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
Balancing Equations
⚫ Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients 🡪 Make a “t” chart to help!

N2 + 3 H2 🡪 2NH3

reactants products

N 2 21
H 6
2 63
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients 🡪 Try the “t” chart again!

2 KClO3 🡪 2KCl + 3O2


reactants products

K 1
2 12
Cl 1
2 1
2
O 3
6 2
6
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients 🡪 Try the “t” chart again! 🡪 THIS IS
TOUGH!
Fe2O3 + 3 H2SO4 🡪 Fe2(SO4)3 + 3H2O
reactants products

Fe 2 2 Remember!
Balance the larger
molecules first…
O 3 3
1 leave the single
atoms until last!

H 6
2 62
SO4 3
1 3

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