January 25 - Balancing Equations

So today we learned how to balance equations. In case you forgot how to, here are the steps to do it.


1. Write the "skeletal" equation. This is just what will react; forget the coefficients for now. However, do remember to balance the charges. For example, if you were reacting copper(II) nitrate with Sodium, you would write:
Cu(NO₃)₂ + Na --> NaNO₃ + Cu

2. Determine how much of each atom or ion you have on both sides of the equation. In the example, there is 1 copper atom, 2 nitrate ions, and 1 sodium atom being reacted. Meanwhile, there is 1 sodium ion, 1 nitrate ion, and 1 copper atom being produced.

3.Figure out if what is reacting is the same as what is produced. If it is the same, your equation is already balanced, and you don't need to do anything else. In the example problem, however, there is 1 more nitrate atom that is reacted than produced, which means coefficients will have to be added.

4. Add coefficients to the element or ion that needs to be increased. For example, since you needed another nitrate ion, you'll need to add a 2 to NaNO₃ so you'll have 2 nitrate ions. You'll now have the following:

Cu(NO₃)₂ + Na --> 2NaNO₃ + Cu

5. Continue adding coefficients until you have the same amount of atoms on each side of the equation. For example, by placing a 2 by NaNO₃, there are now 2 sodium atoms, but only 1 on the reactant side. A 2 would have to be added to Na in the reactants so that there are 2 Na's on each side of the equation. The final equation would be this:

Cu(NO₃)₂ + 2Na --> 2NaNO₃ + Cu


A balancing equations game!!!!!<----click