Balance the following chemical equation (put the coefficients in order)
Fe + O2 + H2O → Fe(OH)
2Fe + (1/2)O2 + 1H2O → 2Fe(OH)
when you do a balanced equation the one with the smallest coefficients are almost always best. A way to do these types of equations is to start with balancing the oxygens first then the others, then its just trail and error.
To balance a chemical equation, you need to ensure that there are an equal number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation. Let's go step by step to balance the given equation:
Fe + O2 + H2O → Fe(OH)
First, count the number of each type of atom on each side of the equation.
On the left side (reactants):
Fe: 1 atom
O: 2 atoms (from O2)
H: 2 atoms (from H2O)
On the right side (products):
Fe: 1 atom
O: 1 atom (from OH)
H: 1 atom (from OH)
Since there are different numbers of atoms for O and H on both sides, the equation is not balanced.
Let's start by balancing the oxygen (O). In this equation, there are two oxygen atoms on the left side (from O2) and one on the right side (from OH). To balance the oxygen, we need to multiply the OH group by 2 to have 2 oxygen atoms.
Fe + O2 + H2O → 2Fe(OH)
Now, count the number of hydrogen (H) atoms on each side:
On the left side (reactants): 2 atoms (from H2O)
On the right side (products): 4 atoms (2 from OH)
The number of H atoms is not equal on both sides. To balance the hydrogen, we need to multiply the H2O by 2:
Fe + O2 + 2H2O → 2Fe(OH)
Finally, check to make sure the number of iron (Fe) atoms is balanced:
On the left side (reactants): 1 atom
On the right side (products): 2 atoms
Now both sides have an equal number of Fe atoms.
The balanced equation for the reaction is:
Fe + O2 + 2H2O → 2Fe(OH)