Use the unbalanced chemical equation to answer the question. 2NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + CO2 Which of the following can be added to the products to balance the equation?
The given unbalanced chemical equation is:
2 NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + CO2
To balance this equation, we need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element on the reactant side is equal to the number of atoms of that element on the product side.
Let's tally up the number of atoms for each element on both sides:
On the reactant side:
- Na (Sodium): 2
- H (Hydrogen): 2
- C (Carbon): 2
- O (Oxygen): 6 (because each bicarbonate ion, HCO3, has 3 oxygen atoms and there are 2 bicarbonate ions)
On the product side with the given products (before balancing):
- Na (Sodium): 2
- C (Carbon): 2 (1 in Na2CO3 + 1 in CO2)
- O (Oxygen): 3 (2 in CO2 + 3 in Na2CO3)
Comparing both sides, we see that the oxygen atoms are not balanced. We have 6 oxygen atoms on the reactant side and only 5 on the product side.
To balance the equation, we need to add another molecule of CO2 to the product side. This would give us:
Reactants:
2 NaHCO3
Products (now balanced):
Na2CO3 + 2 CO2
Let's recount the oxygen atoms:
- Reactant side: 6 oxygens
- Product side: 5 oxygens (in Na2CO3) + 2 oxygens (in the 2 CO2) = 7 oxygens
It looks like we have one extra oxygen atom on the product side. This indicates that we've overlooked the hydrogen component, which should also be balanced as water (H2O) on the product side.
Correctly balanced equation:
2 NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + CO2 + H2O
Let's check:
Atoms of Na, C, O, and H are balanced on both sides now.
- On the reactant side: 2 Na, 2 H, 2 C, and 6 O.
- On the product side: 2 Na, 2 C, (3 O in Na2CO3 + 2 O in CO2 + 1 O in H2O) 6 O, and (2 H in H2O) 2 H.
The balanced equation is:
2 NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + CO2 + H2O
So, the added product to balance the original equation should be H2O (water).