Empeño, Elmer, D.

BSF 1A

CHEM 101- Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry

Activity No. 6
Writing and Balancing Chemical Equation

Objectives:  
The students should be able to properly write the chemical equation of a given chemical reaction
and accurately balance chemical equations.

Materials:
Activity sheet
Periodic Table

Procedure:
Write the balanced equation of the following reactions.

1. Nitrous oxide gas (systematic name: dinitrogen monoxide) is used by some dental
practitioners as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide (and water vapor as a byproduct) can be
produced in small quantities in the laboratory by careful heating of ammonium nitrate.

Answer: NH4 NO3 → N2O + H2O = Unbalanced

Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
N 2 N 2
H 4 H 2x2=4
O 3 O (1)+(2x1=2) =3
NH4 NO3 → N2O + 2H2O (Balanced)

2. Elemental boron is produced in one industrial process by heating diboron trioxide with
magnesium metal, also producing magnesium oxide as a by-product.

Answer: B₂O₃ + Mg → B + MgO. Unbalanced

Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
B 2 B 2x1=2
O 3 O 3x1=3
Mg 3x1=3 Mg 3x1=3
B₂O₃ + 3Mg → 2B + 3MgO (balanced)

3. One method of producing hydrogen peroxide is to add barium peroxide to water. A

precipitate of barium oxide forms, which may then be filtered off to leave a solution of
hydrogen peroxide.
Answer: BaO2+ H2O→ BaO + H2O2
Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
Ba 1 Ba 1
O 3 O 3
H 2 H 2
BaO2 + H2O→ BaO + H2O2 (Balanced)

4. When copper(II) oxide is boiled in an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid, a strikingly blue
solution of copper(II) sulfate forms along with additional water.

Answer: CuO + H2SO4 → CUSO4 + H2O

Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
Cu 1 Cu 1
O 5 O 5
H 2 H 2
S 1 S 1
CuO + H2SO4 → CUSO4 + H2O (Balanced)

5. When solid red phosphorus, P4, is burned in air, the phosphorus combines with oxygen,
producing a choking cloud of tetraphosphorus decoxide.

Answer: P4 + O2 → P4O10 Unbalanced

Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
P 4 P 4
O 5x2=10 O 10
P4 + 5O2 → P4O10 (Balanced)
 6. Crude gunpowders often contain a mixture of potassium nitrate and charcoal (carbon).
When such a mixture is heated until reaction occurs, a solid residue of potassium
carbonate is produced.

Answer: KNO3 + 4C → K2CO3 + 3CO + N2 Unbalanced

Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
K 2x1=2 K 1x2=2
N 2x1=2 N 1x2=2
O 2x3=6 O (1x3=3) + (3x1=3)
=6
C 4x1=4 C (1x1=1) + (3x1=3)
=4
2KNO3 + 4C → K2CO3 + 3CO + N2 (Balanced)

7. Phosphorus trichloride is used in the manufacture of certain pesticides, and may be

synthesized by direct combination of its constituent elements.

Answer: P4+Cl2 → PCl3 Unbalanced

P4+3.5Cl2 → 4PCl3
Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
P 1x4=4 P 4x1=4
Cl 3.5x2=7 Cl 4x3=7
P4+ 7Cl → 4PCl3 (Balanced)

8. If aqueous solutions of potassium chromate and barium chloride are mixed, a bright
yellow solid (barium chromate) forms and settles out of the mixture, leaving potassium
chloride in solution

Answer: K2CrO4+ BaCl2→ BaCrO4 + 2KCl

Reactants Products
Chemical symbol Number of Atoms Chemical symbol Number of Atoms
K 1x2=2 K 2x1=2
Cr 1 Cr 1
O 4 O 4
Ba 1 Ba 1
Cl 2 Cl 2x1=2
K2CrO4+ BaCl2→ BaCrO4 + 2KCl (Balanced)