Balance

Fe2O3 + CO--> Fe + CO2

Fe2O3 + 3CO--> 2Fe + 3CO2

The given equation represents a chemical reaction between iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) and carbon monoxide (CO) to produce iron (Fe) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

To balance this equation, you need to ensure that the same number of atoms of each element are present on both sides of the equation.

Let's start by counting the number of atoms for each element on both sides of the equation:

On the left-hand side (reactants):
- Fe: 2 atoms
- O: 3 atoms
- C: 1 atom

On the right-hand side (products):
- Fe: 1 atom
- O: 2 atoms
- C: 1 atom

Based on these counts, it is clear that the numbers of Fe and C atoms are already balanced, but there is an imbalance in the number of O atoms.

To balance the O atoms, you can add a coefficient in front of CO to increase the number of O atoms on the right-hand side. In this case, we need 3 O atoms on the right-hand side. So, we can add a coefficient of 3 in front of CO:

Fe2O3 + 3CO --> Fe + CO2

Now, let's recheck the atom counts:

On the left-hand side (reactants):
- Fe: 2 atoms
- O: 3 atoms
- C: 3 atoms

On the right-hand side (products):
- Fe: 1 atom
- O: 3 atoms
- C: 1 atom

Now, the numbers of Fe, O, and C atoms are balanced, and the equation is balanced overall.