WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
We've all done it, but do you know why?
Recall that mass of REACTANTS in a chemical equation will always equal the mass of PRODUCTS. Mass is neither created or destroyed!
Got that? Yea. You better have >:)
Recall that mass of REACTANTS in a chemical equation will always equal the mass of PRODUCTS. Mass is neither created or destroyed!
Got that? Yea. You better have >:)
There's not too much to it! All you have to do is make sure that the number of atoms of each kind on the reactant side equal to those on the product side!
E.g. Ethane + Oxygen > Carbon Dioxide + Steam
C2H6 + O2 > CO2 + H2O
Here are some important pointers!
1) First balance atoms which only occur in one molecular on each side of the equation. In our example, this would be the CARBON and the HYDROGEN
1) First balance atoms which only occur in one molecular on each side of the equation. In our example, this would be the CARBON and the HYDROGEN
1C2H6 + O2 > 2CO2 + H2O
1C2H6 + O2 > 2CO2 + 3H2O
Now we can balance the oxygen on the reactants side according to the number of oxygen atoms in the product.
UH OH. IT DOESN'T WORK. WHY? Because there are an odd number of oxygen atoms on the product side and the O2 on the reactant side means an even number of atoms. To solve this problem, we can double the numbers we have already put in to make 3 an even number while leaving the general proportions unaffected.
2C2H6 + O2 > 4CO2 + 6H2O
So now we have 14 oxygen atoms in total on the product side. 14/2=7 so...
2C2H6 + 14O2 > 4CO2 + 6H2O
TADA! IT BALANCES!
Some additional tips:
Some additional tips:
Fe2O3 + 3 H2SO4 >Fe2(SO4)3 + 3 H2O
-Balance whole groups (e.g. polyatomic or like the SO4 above) whenever possible - try not to separate them into atoms! Notice the 3 in front of the H2SO4, this balances it with the Fe2(SO4)3.
-Try to do the balancing in a certain order - don't jump from one atom to another - especially if you haven't finished balancing it.
-Balance atoms in elemental form last (they can often be used to make up the missing one or two atoms without changing the proportions of the entire equation)
-Balance atoms in elemental form last (they can often be used to make up the missing one or two atoms without changing the proportions of the entire equation)
-Watch out for atoms like PHOSPHORUS (which appears as P subscript 4) SULPHUR (which appears as S subscript 8) and the HOFBrINCl (Hydrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine, Bromine, Iodine, Nitrogen, Chloride - which all appear as diatomic elements - with a subscript 2)
Watch this cool video with a great explanation!
And try these nifty examples! >http://www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/taters/EquationBalancing.htm
WAPOOOOOOOOH!
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