How can I balance a chemical equation?
1 Answer
Let us begin with a very basic chemical reaction between nitrogen and hydrogen to create ammonia
The reaction is
The first step is to take an atom inventory of both sides of the equation.
Reactants
N = 2
H = 2
Products
N = 1
H = 3
To balance the unbalanced atoms of nitrogen we add a coefficient of 2 in front of the ammonia on the product side.
This changes the atom inventory of both sides of the equation.
Reactants
N = 2
H = 2
Products
N = 2
H = 6
To complete balancing the equation we add a coefficient of 3 in front of the hydrogen on the reactant side.
This changes the atom inventory of both sides of the equation.
Reactants
N = 2
H = 6
Products
N = 2
H = 6
And the equation is balanced.
Please review the video below to see more examples of balancing equations.
I hope this was helpful.
SMARTERTEACHER