Balancing Equations Practice

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

A coefficient indicates the number of molecules or moles of a substance involved in a chemical reaction.

You adjust the coefficients of the reactants and products to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

The law of conservation of mass states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; it can only change forms.

The coefficient of O2 is 5.

The coefficient of H2SO4 is 3.

The balanced equation is 4 NH3 + 5 O2 → 4 NO + 6 H2O.

The first step is to write the unbalanced equation and count the number of atoms of each element on both sides.

Subscripts indicate the number of atoms of each element in a molecule; they cannot be changed when balancing equations.

The balanced form is 2 C2H6 + 5 O2 → 6 H2O + 4 CO2.