Balancing Equations

Front

What is a balanced chemical equation?

Back

A balanced chemical equation has the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation, indicating that mass is conserved during a chemical reaction.

Front

What is a coefficient in a chemical equation?

Back

A coefficient is a number placed in front of a chemical formula in an equation to indicate how many molecules or moles of that substance are involved in the reaction.

Front

How do you balance the equation: _C + _O₂ → _CO₂?

Back

The balanced equation is 1C + 1O₂ → 1CO₂.

Front

What is the purpose of balancing chemical equations?

Back

The purpose is to ensure that the law of conservation of mass is followed, meaning that the same number of atoms of each element must be present on both sides of the equation.

Front

What does it mean if an equation is unbalanced?

Back

An unbalanced equation does not have the same number of atoms of each element on both sides, indicating that mass is not conserved.

Front

Balance the equation: _H₂ + _O₂ → _H₂O.

Back

The balanced equation is 2H₂ + 1O₂ → 2H₂O.

Front

What is the first step in balancing a chemical equation?

Back

The first step is to write down the number of atoms of each element present in the reactants and products.

Front

What is the difference between a subscript and a coefficient?

Back

A subscript indicates the number of atoms in a molecule, while a coefficient indicates the number of molecules.

Front

How do you know if a chemical equation is balanced?

Back

A chemical equation is balanced if the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

Front

What is the balanced form of the equation: PCl₅ + H₂O → HCl + H₃PO₄?

Back

The balanced equation is 1PCl₅ + 4H₂O → 5HCl + 1H₃PO₄.