Tips to solve a Chemical Equation

A chemical equation is a written description of what happens in a chemical reaction. The starting materials, called reactants, are listed on the left hand side of the equation. Next comes an arrow that indicates the direction of the reaction. The right hand side of the reaction lists the substances that are made, called products. A balanced chemical equation tells you the amounts of reactants and products needed to satisfy the Law of Conservation of Mass. Basically, this means there are the same numbers of each type of atoms on the left side of the equation as there are on the right side of the equation. It sounds like it should be simple to balance equations, but it's a skill that takes practice.

· Identify each element found in the equation. The number of atoms of each type of atom must be the same on each side of the equation once it has been balanced.

· What is the net charge on each side of the equation? The net charge must be the same on each side of the equation once it has been balanced.

· If possible, start with an element found in one compound on each side of the equation. Change the coefficients (the numbers in front of the compound or molecule) so that the number of atoms of the element is the same on each side of the equation. Remember, to balance an equation, you change the coefficients, not the subscripts in the formulas.

· Once you have balanced one element, do the same thing with another element. Proceed until all elements have been balanced. It's easiest to leave elements found in pure form for last.

· Check your work to make certain the charge on both sides of the equation is also balanced.

Now, student know what a chemical equation is and why it should be balanced. Balance these chemistry equations in a series of steps which are as follows:

· Take the unbalanced equation and make a note of the elements present in each side of the equation.

· Now, count the number of molecules of each element present on both sides of the equation.

· Here comes the task of balancing chemical equations. You should see that same numbers of molecules of all elements are present on the reactants side as well as the products side. The equation should follow law of conservation of mass i.e. matter is neither created nor destroyed.

· While balancing the equations you should only change the co-efficient of the chemical formula but not the subscripts. Changing the subscripts will change the components.

· Start by balancing one element at a time. Finally check if all the elements are balanced.

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Created on Jan 18th 2021 06:40. Viewed 231 times.

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