Balancing Chemical Equations
What is a chemical equation?
• Chemical equation - Describes a chemical change.
• Parts of an equation:
Reactant
Product
2Ag + H2S Ag2S + H2
Reaction symbol
Reactants and Products
•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.
Subscripts and Coefficients
• 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
•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
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
Rules in Balancing Equations
1. Matter cannot be created nor 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.
Balancing Equations
Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients.
N2 + 3 H2 2 NH3
reactants products
N 2 21
H 6
2 63
Balancing Equations
• 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
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• 2 C2H6 + 7 O2 4CO2 + 6 H2O
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• 4Fe + 3 O2 2 Fe2O3
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __Fe + ___O2 ___Fe2 O3
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __H2 + __Cl2 → __HCl
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __Ag + __H2S → __Ag2S + __H2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __CH4 + __O2 → __CO2 + __H2O
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __HgO → __Hg + __O2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __Co + __H2O → __Co2O3 + __H2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• ___ Al + ___ Br2 ___ Al2Br6
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __Na + __Cl2 __NaCl
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __CH4 + __O2 __CO2 + __H2O
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __Li + __HNO3 __LiNO3 + __H2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __Al + __O2 __Al2O3
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __NH3 + __O2 ___NO + ___H2O
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• __KClO3 __KCl + __O2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• NaCl + F2 NaF + Cl2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• Ag2O Ag + O2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• Fe + H2SO4 Fe2(SO4)3 + H2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• C2H6 + O2 H2O + CO2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• KOH + H3PO4 K3PO4 + H2 O
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• SnO2 + H2 Sn + H2O
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• SiCl4 + H2O SiO2 + HCl
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• Zn + HCl ZnCl2 + H2
Balancing Equations
•Balance the following equation:
• SiO2 + HF SiF4 + H2O
