Balance the following the chemical equation:
____ C2H6 + ____ O2 → ____ CO2 + ____ H2O
The balanced chemical equation is:
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O
To balance a chemical equation, you need to make sure that there is an equal number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation. Let's go step by step to balance this equation:
First, let's count the number of carbon atoms on both sides. On the left side, we have 2 carbon atoms from C2H6, and on the right side, we have 1 carbon atom from CO2. To balance the carbon atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 2 in front of CO2:
C2H6 + ____ O2 → 2 CO2 + ____ H2O
Next, let's count the number of hydrogen atoms. On the left side, we have 6 hydrogen atoms from C2H6, and on the right side, we have 2 hydrogen atoms from H2O. To balance the hydrogen atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 3 in front of H2O:
C2H6 + ____ O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O
Now let's count the number of oxygen atoms. On the left side, we have 2 oxygen atoms from O2, and on the right side, we have 4 oxygen atoms from 2 CO2 and 3 H2O. To balance the oxygen atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 7/2 (or 3.5) in front of O2:
C2H6 + 7/2 O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O
Since coefficients must be whole numbers, we can multiply the entire equation by 2 to eliminate the fractional coefficient:
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O
Therefore, the balanced chemical equation is:
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O
To balance the chemical equation, we need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
Let's start by counting the number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation:
On the left side, we have 2 carbon (C) atoms from the C2H6, and 6 hydrogen (H) atoms from the C2H6.
On the right side, we have 1 carbon (C) atom from the CO2, and 2 hydrogen (H) atoms from the H2O.
Now let's balance the equation step by step:
C2H6 + ____ O2 → ____ CO2 + ____ H2O
To equalize the number of carbon atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 2 in front of CO2:
C2H6 + ____ O2 → 2 CO2 + ____ H2O
Now, let's look at the number of hydrogen atoms. We have 6 hydrogen atoms on the left side of the equation and 2 hydrogen atoms on the right side. To balance the hydrogen atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 3 in front of H2O:
C2H6 + ____ O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O
Finally, let's check the number of oxygen atoms. On the left side, we have 2 oxygen atoms from O2, and on the right side, we have 4 oxygen atoms from 2 CO2 and 3 oxygen atoms from 3 H2O. In total, we have 4 + 3 = 7 oxygen atoms. To balance the oxygen atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 7/2 (or 3.5) in front of O2:
C2H6 + (7/2) O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O
Since we can't have a fractional coefficient, we multiply all coefficients by 2 to get rid of the fraction:
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O
Therefore, the balanced chemical equation is:
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O