Balancing Chemical Equations

Obeys the Law of Conservation of Mass

Lecture 4
 No Chemical Reaction
 Determine if a chemical reaction has
occurred in the following:
 Chemical Reaction
 Determine if a chemical reaction has
occurred in the following:
 Chemical Reaction
 Determine if a chemical reaction has
occurred in the following:
Law of Conservation of Mass

 States that matter cannot be

created or destroyed in a
chemical reaction
 the mass of any atom at the
beginning of a reaction will
equal to the mass of the atom
at the end of the reaction

Antoine Lavoisier
 Know the numbers!
 Subscripts and Coefficients

 Subscripts  shows how many atoms of an

element are in a molecule
Ex: H2O means 2atoms of H and 1 atom of O
 Coefficients  shows how many molecules
are there of a particular chemical.
Ex: 3H2O means there are 3 water
molecules
 Tips on Balancing Equations
 Subscripts cannot be added, removed or
changed
 You can only add coefficient

 Coefficients can only go in front of

chemical formulas, never in the middle of a
formula
 Try balancing big formula first; save free
elements for last.
 Unbalanced Equation
N
STIO
U
MB
C O CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O
Reactant Side Product Side

1 carbon atom 1 carbon atom

4 hydrogen atoms 2 hydrogen atoms
2 oxygen atoms 3 oxygen atoms
 Balanced Equation

CH4 + 2O2  CO2 +2 H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

1 carbon atom 1 carbon atom

4 hydrogen atoms 4 2 hydrogen atoms
4 2 oxygen atoms 4 3 oxygen atoms
 Example
COMBINATION RXN
N2 + 3H2  2NH3
2- N -1 2
6 2- H - 3 6

C ED
N
A LA
B
 Example
DECOMPOSITION RXN
2 NaHCO3  Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2
2 1- Na -2
2 1-H-2
2 1-C-2
6 3-O-6
 Example
DECOMPOSITION RXN
2 KClO3 2 KCl + 3O2
2 1- K -1 2
2 1- Cl -1 2
6 3- O -2 6
E D
A NC
L
BA
 Example
Double Replacement
Pb(NO3)2 + 2NaCl  2NaNO3 + PbCl2
1- Pb -1
2- NO3-1 2
2 1- Na - 1 2
2 1- Cl -2 LA
N C ED
BA
Balanced the following equation:

1. Al + HCl → AlCl3 + H2

2. SiCl4 + H2O → H4SiO4 + HCl

3. Na2CO3 + HCl → NaCl + H2O + CO2

4. Fe2(SO4)3 + KOH → K2SO4 + Fe(OH)3

5. C7H6O2 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Balanced the following equation:

1. 2Al + 6HCl → 2AlCl3 + 3H2

2. SiCl4 + 4H2O → H4SiO4 + 4HCl

3. Na2CO3 + 2HCl → 2NaCl + H2O + CO2

4. Fe2(SO4)3 + 6KOH → 3K2SO4 + 2Fe(OH)3

5. 2C7H6O2 + 15O2 → 14CO2 + 6H2O