Br + CHCOOH
bromine in acetic acid...
Br2 + CH3COOH?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromoacetic_acid
I was using a liquid with bromine in acetic acid.
The chemical equation you provided, Br + CHCOOH, is incomplete. To accurately describe a chemical reaction, we need to include the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, or aqueous) for each compound involved and indicate the reaction conditions, such as temperature and pressure.
Assuming you meant the reaction between bromine (Br2) and acetic acid (CH3COOH), we can write the balanced chemical equation as follows:
Br2 (aq) + 2CH3COOH (aq) → 2CH3COBr (aq) + H2O (l)
In this reaction, bromine (Br2) reacts with acetic acid (CH3COOH) to form acetyl bromide (CH3COBr) and water (H2O).
To balance this equation, it's important to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides. Here's how we can balance it:
1. Count the number of atoms of each element on each side of the equation.
Left side (Reactants):
Br: 2
C: 2
H: 4
O: 2
Right side (Products):
Br: 2
C: 2
H: 4
O: 2
2. To balance the bromine atoms, we see that there are already two bromine atoms on both sides, so they are balanced.
3. Next, let's balance the carbon atoms. There's one carbon atom in acetic acid (CH3COOH) and one carbon atom in acetyl bromide (CH3COBr). So, the carbons are balanced as well.
4. Moving on to the hydrogen atoms, we have four hydrogen atoms on both sides, so they are balanced.
5. Finally, let's balance the oxygen atoms. Acetic acid has two oxygen atoms, while acetyl bromide has only one oxygen atom. To balance this, we need to add a coefficient of 2 in front of the water on the product side to have two oxygen atoms.
The balanced equation is:
Br2 (aq) + 2CH3COOH (aq) → 2CH3COBr (aq) + 2H2O (l)