Homework Help Forum: Chemistry

Posted by William on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 10:31am.

A compound containing 3 atoms of carbon and 8 atoms of hydrogen is combined in a reaction with oxygen molecules. The two end products of this equation are carbon dioxide and water. What element should you look at first in balancing this equation? A. oxygen B. Hydrogen C. Carbon D. Dioxide

• Chemistry - DrBob222, Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 12:21pm

  I have answered problems like this several times. There are many many different ways to balance equations and each person has a method that s/he prefers. So there is no one way of doing it. Personally, I think this is a VERY poor question but you don't need to tell your instructor that. I would start with carbon but there is no reason not to start with hydrogen. There are some good reasons not to start with oxygen.

  
  

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