Balancing Chemical Equations;
How would you solve this?
1.Br2(g) + ___H2O(l) + ___SO2(g) ---> ___HBr(aq) + ___H2SO4(aq)
Br2 + 2 H2O + SO2 -> 2 HBr + H2SO4
To balance the chemical equation, follow these steps:
Step 1: Count the number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. Start with the most complex molecule or polyatomic ion.
On the left side:
- 1 Br atom
- 2 O atoms from H2O
- 1 S atom
- 2 O atoms from SO2
On the right side:
- 1 H atom from HBr
- 1 S atom from H2SO4
- 4 O atoms from H2SO4
Step 2: Begin by balancing the atoms that are present in the smallest number. In this case, it is the Br atom.
On the left side, there is 1 Br atom. Therefore, we need 1 HBr molecule on the right side to balance it.
The equation now looks like this:
Br2(g) + ___H2O(l) + ___SO2(g) ---> 2HBr(aq) + ___H2SO4(aq)
Step 3: Next, balance the hydrogen atoms. On the left side, there are 2 hydrogen atoms from H2O, and on the right side, there are already 2 hydrogen atoms from HBr. Therefore, hydrogen is already balanced.
The equation now looks like this:
Br2(g) + ___H2O(l) + ___SO2(g) ---> 2HBr(aq) + ___H2SO4(aq)
Step 4: Balance the oxygen atoms. On the left side, there are 2 oxygen atoms from H2O and 2 oxygen atoms from SO2, totaling 4 oxygen atoms. On the right side, there are 4 oxygen atoms from H2SO4. Therefore, oxygen is already balanced.
The final balanced equation is:
Br2(g) + H2O(l) + ___SO2(g) ---> 2HBr(aq) + H2SO4(aq)
To fully balance the equation, it is necessary to gather more information about the coefficients in front of water (H2O) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) to ensure conservation of other elements.