Write a balanced chemical equation that represents the reaction between methane and hydrochloric acid.

CH4+HCl->

I'm not quite sure what happens...help please? Thanks in advance!

I think the chances are slim that it will react at all. If it does react the product probably is a mixture of chloromethanes and most probably CH3Cl.

If it is aqueous HCl the two will sit and look at each other and nothing will happen.

If a mixture of methane(g) and HCl(g) are subjected to UV a mixture of chloromethanes are produced.

brOH

It wont

To write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction between methane (CH4) and hydrochloric acid (HCl), we first need to understand the reaction itself.

Methane (CH4) is a hydrocarbon, while hydrochloric acid (HCl) is an acid. When they react together, a substitution reaction occurs. In this reaction, one of the hydrogen atoms in methane is replaced by a chlorine atom from hydrochloric acid.

Here's how you can write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction:

1. Start by writing the formulas of methane and hydrochloric acid:
CH4 + HCl

2. Identify the elements and their respective atoms present on each side of the equation. The left side contains one carbon (C) atom, four hydrogen (H) atoms, and one chlorine (Cl) atom. The right side contains one carbon (C) atom, four hydrogen (H) atoms, and one chlorine (Cl) atom.

3. Since the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides, the equation is already balanced. However, if it were unbalanced, we would need to adjust the coefficients (numbers in front of the molecules or atoms) to make the number of atoms equal on both sides.

So, the balanced chemical equation for the reaction between methane and hydrochloric acid is:

CH4 + HCl -> CH3Cl + H2

In this balanced equation, one hydrogen atom from methane is replaced by a chlorine atom, resulting in the formation of chloromethane (CH3Cl) and hydrogen gas (H2).