De Leon, Loraine Andrei D.

STEM 12 – LINNAEUS

GENERAL CHEMISTRY: ACTIVITY 9

2 EXAMPLES SHOWING THE PROCESS OF BALANCING OF EQUATION

1. Unbalanced chemical equation: C3H8 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

• Propane has the chemical formula C3H8. It produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water when it burns with oxygen (O2) (H2O)
• On the reactant and product sides, the total number of atoms of each element must
be compared.

Chemical Equation: C3H8 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

3 Carbon atoms from C3H8 1 Carbon atom from CO2

8 Hydrogen atoms from C3H8 2 Hydrogen atoms from H2O

2 Oxygen atoms from O2 3 Oxygen atoms, 2 from CO2 and 1 from H2O
 • Stoichiometric coefficients are used to compounds that contain an element with a
distinct number of atoms in the reactant and product side.
• The coefficient must ensure that the number of atoms on each side is equal.
• It's important to note that the number of atoms in one species is computed by
multiplying the stoichiometric coefficient by the total number of atoms in one
species' molecule.
• When the CO2 molecule is given the coefficient 3, the total number of oxygen
atoms in CO2 becomes 6. As seen in the table below, the coefficient is initially
allocated to carbon.

Chemical Equation: C3H8 + O2 → 3CO2 + H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

3 Carbon atoms from C3H8 3 Carbon atoms from CO2

8 Hydrogen atoms from C3H8 2 Hydrogen atoms from H2O

2 Oxygen atoms from O2 7 Oxygen atoms, 6 from CO2 and 1 from H2O

Repeat until the reactant and product sides have the same number of atoms of each
reactive element. The following example balances hydrogen. The following is a
transformation of the chemical equation.

Chemical Equation: C3H8 + O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

3 Carbon atoms from C3H8 3 Carbon atoms from CO2

8 Hydrogen atoms from C3H8 8 Hydrogen atoms from H2O

2 Oxygen atoms from O2 10 Oxygen atoms, 6 from CO2 and 4 from H2O
 • After the hydrogen atoms have been balanced, oxygen is the next element to be
balanced. Because the product side has 10 oxygen atoms, the reactant side must
likewise include 10 oxygen atoms.
• There are two oxygen atoms in each O2 molecule. As a result, the O2 molecule
must be allocated a stoichiometric value of 5. The chemical equation has been
revised and is listed below.

Chemical Equation: C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

3 Carbon atoms from C3H8 3 Carbon atoms from CO2

8 Hydrogen atoms from C3H8 8 Hydrogen atoms from H2O

10 Oxygen atoms from O2 10 Oxygen atoms, 6 from CO2 and 4 from H2O

• After all of the individual components have been balanced, the total amount of
atoms of each element on the reactant and product sides is compared again.
• A chemical equation is considered to be balanced if there are no inequalities.
• As a result, C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O is the balanced chemical equation.
 2. Unbalanced chemical equation: N2 + H2 → NH3

The nitrogen atoms are balanced first in this process. Because the reactant side
comprises two nitrogen atoms, each N2 molecule requires the formation of two NH3
molecules.

Chemical Equation: N2 + H2 → 2NH3

Reactant Side Product Side

2 nitrogen atoms 2 nitrogen atoms

2 hydrogen atoms 6 hydrogen atoms

Two hydrogen atoms are in each H2 molecule. The total number of hydrogen atoms in
the equation must equal 6 in order to balance the number of hydrogen atoms. As a result,
hydrogen must be allocated a stoichiometric coefficient of 3.

Chemical Equation: N2 + 3H2 → 2NH3

Reactant Side Product Side

2 nitrogen atoms 2 nitrogen atoms

6 hydrogen atoms 6 hydrogen atoms

N2 + 3H2 → 2NH3 is the balanced chemical equation.