What Is A Balanced Chemical Equation

A chemical equation is a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction in the form of symbols and formulas, wherein the reactant entities are given on the left-hand side and the product entities on the right-hand side.

what is a balanced chemical equation

A balanced equation is an equation for a chemical reaction in which the number of atoms for each element in the reaction and the total charge are the same for both the reactants and the products. In other words, the mass and the charge are balanced on both sides of the reaction.

Balanced chemical equations show that mass is conserved in chemical reactions. The total mass and energy in a system remain constant. This amendment incorporates the fact that mass and energy can be converted from one to another. However, the law of conservation of mass remains a useful concept in chemistry since the energy produced or consumed in a typical chemical reaction account for a minute amount of mass.

Let's take a look at this scale. We can see that it is unbalanced, with the right (red) side, weighing more than the left (blue) side. In order for the two sides to be balanced, we need to put a little more mass on the left side until they are the same mass.

Just like we want the scale to be balanced on both sides, a chemical equation should also be balanced on both sides. A chemical equation shows us the substances involved in a chemical reaction - the substances that react (reactants) and the substances that are produced (products). In general, a chemical equation looks like this:

According to the law of conservation of mass, when a chemical reaction occurs, the mass of the products should be equal to the mass of the reactants. Therefore, the amount of the atoms in each element does not change in the chemical reaction. As a result, the chemical equation that shows the chemical reaction needs to be balanced. A balanced chemical equation occurs when the number of the atoms involved in the reactants side is equal to the number of atoms in the products side.

In this chemical reaction, nitrogen (N2) reacts with hydrogen (H) to produce ammonia (NH3).The reactants are nitrogen and hydrogen, and the product is ammonia. If we look at this equation, we can see that the equation is not balanced.

The equation is not balanced because in the reactants side, there are 2 nitrogen (N) atoms and 2 hydrogen (H) atoms. In the products side, there are 1 nitrogen (N) atoms and 3 hydrogen (H) atoms. The number of the atoms is not balanced on both sides.

To balance the chemical equation above, we need to make use of coefficients. A coefficient is a number that we place in front of a chemical formula. In the chemical equation, to make the number of nitrogen (N) atoms equal on both sides, first, we place a coefficient of 2 in front of NH3.

Once we do that, the number of nitrogen (N) atoms on both sides is balanced. However, the number of hydrogen (H) atoms is not balanced on both sides. We need to make use of another coefficient in front of H2. This time, we put a coefficient of 3 in front of H2 to balance the chemical equation.

The equation above is now balanced. There are 2 nitrogen (N) atoms and 6 hydrogen (H) atoms on both the reactants and products side. Since there is no coefficient in front of N2, that means the coefficient is equal to 1.

In chemistry, it is very important to understand the relationship between reactants and products in a reaction. Stoichiometry is exactly that. It is the quantitative relation between the number of moles (and therefore mass) of various products and reactants in a chemical reaction. Chemical reactions must be balanced or, in other words, must have the same number of various atoms in the products as in the reactants.

A chemical equation is a symbolic representation of chemical reaction in the form of symbols and formulas, wherein the reactant entities are given on the left-hand side and the product entities on the right-hand side. A balanced equation is an equation for a chemical reaction in which the number of atoms for each element in the reaction and the total charge are the same for both the reactants and the products. In other words, the mass and the charge are balanced on both sides of the reaction. Chemical equations must be balanced, meaning that the number and kinds of atoms must be the same on both sides of the reaction arrow. The numbers placed in front of formulas to balance equations are called coefficients, and they multiply all the atoms in a formula. Thus, the symbol 2 NaHCO3 indicates two units of sodium bicarbonate, which contain 2 Na atoms, 2 H atoms, 2 C atoms, and 6 O atoms (2 X 3= 6, the coefficient times the subscript for O).

Matter cannot be created or destroyed in chemical reactions. The law of the conservation of mass states that the total weight of a reaction cannot change because matter cannot be destroyed or created. During a chemical reaction, the mass of the reactants and products must be the same. The total number of atoms stays equal. Elements cannot magically appear or disappear in a reaction, so all of them must be accounted for in a chemical equation.

In this case, the carbon (C) atoms are already balanced. So now we look at the hydrogen (H) atoms. There are 4 hydrogen (H) atoms on the reactants side and 2 hydrogen (H) atoms on the products side. To balance them, we put a coefficient of 2 in front of H2O.

The hydrogen (H) atoms are now balanced. Due to the coefficient 2 in front of H2O, there are a total of 4 oxygen (O) atoms on the products side. To balance the oxygen atoms on both sides, we put a coefficient of 2 in front of O2. The chemical equation is now balanced.

This reaction is not balanced. First, we need to balance the oxygen atoms. We do this by making it so that there are 6 oxygen atoms on each side. To do this, we need to put a coefficient of 2 in front Fe2O3 and a coefficient of 3 in front of CO2.

Now that the oxygen atoms are balanced, we need to balance the iron (Fe) atoms first. To do this, we need to put a coefficient of 4 in front of Fe in the products side. Now that the Fe atoms are balanced, we can balance the carbon atoms. We do this by putting a coefficient of 3 in front of C on the reactants side. The chemical equation is now balanced.

According to the law of conservation of mass, the mass of the reactants should be equal to the mass of the products when a chemical reaction occurs. This means that the number of different atoms involved in the substances reacting must remain unchanged after the reaction occurs. Where there is a chemical reaction, there is a chemical equation. The chemical equation needs to be balanced so that it follows the law of conservation of mass. A balanced chemical equation occurs when the number of the different atoms of elements in the reactants side is equal to that of the products side.

Balancing chemical equations is a process of trial and error. When balancing chemical equations, we first need to count the different atoms on the reactants side and the products side. If the equation is not balanced, we need to use coefficients, which are numbers that we put in front of the substances reacting, to balance the equation. If there is no coefficient in front of the chemical formula, that means the coefficient is equal to one. 041b061a72