Chlorine gas, $C l_{2}$ $Cl_2$ , reacts with potassium bromide, $K B r$ $KBr$ , to form potassium chloride and bromine, $B r_{2}$ $Br_2$ . How do you write the balanced equation for this single-displacement reaction?

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Answer 1 · 2016-01-01T00:56:47

${Cl}_{2} + 2KBr$ $"Cl"_2" + 2KBr"$ $\to$ $rarr$ $2KCl + {Br}_{2}$ $"2KCl" + "Br"_2"$

Unbalanced Equation

${Cl}_{2} + KBr$ $"Cl"_2" + KBr"$ $\to$ $rarr$ $KCl + {Br}_{2}$ $"KCl" + "Br"_2"$

Balance the Cl

There are 2 Cl atoms on the left side and 1 Cl atom on the right side.

Add a coefficient of 2 in front of KCl on the right side.

${Cl}_{2} + KBr$ $"Cl"_2" + KBr"$ $\to$ $rarr$ $2KCl + {Br}_{2}$ $"2KCl" + "Br"_2"$

There are now 2 Cl atoms on both sides.

Balance the Br

There are 2 Br atoms on the right side and 1 Br atom on the left side. Add a coefficient of 2 in front of KBr.

${Cl}_{2} + 2KBr$ $"Cl"_2" + 2KBr"$ $\to$ $rarr$ $2KCl + {Br}_{2}$ $"2KCl" + "Br"_2"$

The equation is now balanced with 2 Cl atoms, 2 K atoms, and 2 Br atoms on both sides of the equation.

Note: You can substitute the words atom or atoms by mole or moles.

Chlorine gas, Cl2Cl_2, reacts with potassium bromide, KBrKBr, to form potassium chloride and bromine, Br2Br_2. How do you write the balanced equation for this single-displacement reaction?