Balance the equation:
Note: If a chemical species coefficient is "1" then "1" needs to be entered in the field before that species.
MnO4– + H+ + C2O42– Mn2+ + H2O + CO2
I'm not exactly sure how to do this question..Help?
This is a redox equation and you balance it by following the rules on balancing that type of equation. Here is a site that will give you some information. I can help by telling you that Mn goes from +7 on the left to +2 on the right which is a gain of 5 electrons. C goes from +6 (for both of them) on the left to +8 on the right (for 2 of them so put a 2 there now). I think you can finish. If you have trouble tell me exactly what you don't understand. Remember that in balancing redox equations that the electrons lost must equal the electrons gained; therefore, the multipliers you must use to keep the e lost equal to e gained become the coefficients to balance the equation. Those atoms NOT involved in redox are balanced by inspection (trial and error). Here is the site.
http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Redox/Meaning-of-Redox.html
2 mno4
16 h
5 c2o4
then
2 mn
8 h20
10 co2
the answer is correct!
To balance the given chemical equation, follow these step-by-step instructions:
Step 1: Count the number of atoms on each side of the equation.
MnO4–: Mn = 1, O = 4
H+: H = 1
C2O42–: C = 2, O = 4
Mn2+: Mn = 1
H2O: H = 2, O = 1
CO2: C = 1, O = 2
Step 2: Balance the atoms other than oxygen and hydrogen.
Since the number of C atoms is already balanced, let's balance Mn, H, and O atoms.
MnO4–: Mn = 1, O = 4
H+: H = 1
C2O42–: C = 2, O = 4
Mn2+: Mn = 1
H2O: H = 2, O = 1
CO2: C = 1, O = 2
Step 3: Balance the oxygen atoms.
The left side has 4 O atoms from MnO4– and 4 O atoms from C2O42–, so the total is 8 O atoms. However, the right side only has 1 O atom from H2O and 2 O atoms from CO2, totaling 3 O atoms. To balance the O atoms, we need to add 5 more O atoms to the right side.
MnO4–: Mn = 1, O = 4
H+: H = 1
C2O42–: C = 2, O = 4
Mn2+: Mn = 1
H2O: H = 2, O = 1
CO2: C = 1, O = 2
Step 4: Balance the hydrogen atoms.
The left side has 1 H atom from H+, but the right side has 2 H atoms from H2O. To balance the H atoms, we need to add 1 more H atom to the left side.
MnO4–: Mn = 1, O = 4
H+: H = 1
C2O42–: C = 2, O = 4
Mn2+: Mn = 1
H2O: H = 2, O = 1
CO2: C = 1, O = 2
Step 5: Balance the charges.
The MnO4– ion has a charge of -1, so we need to balance the charge on the right side. Mn2+ has a charge of +2, so we need two Mn2+ ions on the right side to balance the charge. This will also help balance the Mn atoms.
MnO4–: Mn = 1, O = 4
H+: H = 1
C2O42–: C = 2, O = 4
Mn2+: Mn = 2
H2O: H = 2, O = 1
CO2: C = 1, O = 2
Step 6: Check the final balance.
Mn: 1 on the left, 2 on the right = Balanced
H: 1 on the left, 2 on the right = Balanced
C: 2 on the left, 1 on the right = Balanced
O: 4 on the left, 4 on the right = Balanced
Charge: -1 on the left, +4 on the right = Balanced
The balanced equation is:
MnO4– + H+ + C2O42– → 2 Mn2+ + H2O + CO2