How do you balance, step by step C2H5OH + K2Cr2O7 + H2SO4 = Cr2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + CH3COOH + H2O?

See your original post.

http://www.faculty.sfasu.edu/langleyricha/Chem134/redox.pdf

To balance the chemical equation C2H5OH + K2Cr2O7 + H2SO4 = Cr2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + CH3COOH + H2O, we will go through the following steps:

Step 1: Count the number of atoms for each element on both sides of the equation.

Left side: 2 carbon atoms (C), 6 hydrogen atoms (H), 1 potassium atom (K), 2 chromium atoms (Cr), 14 oxygen atoms (O), and 1 sulfur atom (S).

Right side: 2 chromium atoms (Cr), 3 sulfur atoms (S), 6 oxygen atoms (O), 4 potassium atoms (K), 4 carbon atoms (C), 4 hydrogen atoms (H), and 2 oxygen atoms (O).

Step 2: Start by balancing the atoms that appear in the fewest number of molecules or formulas.

In this case, we will begin with potassium (K) and balance it on both sides.

Left side: 2 potassium atoms (K).

Right side: 4 potassium atoms (2 in K2Cr2O7 and 2 in K2SO4).

To balance potassium, we need to multiply K2Cr2O7 by 2 on the left side.

C2H5OH + 2 K2Cr2O7 + H2SO4 = Cr2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + CH3COOH + H2O

Step 3: Proceed to balance the other atoms step by step.

Next, we balance the chromium (Cr) atoms.

Left side: 2 chromium atoms (Cr) from K2Cr2O7.

Right side: 2 chromium atoms (Cr) from Cr2(SO4)3.

The chromium atoms are already balanced.

The balanced equation becomes:

C2H5OH + 2 K2Cr2O7 + H2SO4 = 2 Cr2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + CH3COOH + H2O

Step 4: Continue balancing the remaining atoms.

Next, we balance the sulfur (S) atoms.

Left side: 1 sulfur atom (S) from H2SO4.

Right side: 3 sulfur atoms (S) from 2 Cr2(SO4)3 and 1 sulfur atom (S) from K2SO4.

To balance the sulfur atoms, we multiply H2SO4 by 3 on the left side.

C2H5OH + 2 K2Cr2O7 + 3 H2SO4 = 2 Cr2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + CH3COOH + H2O

Step 5: Finally, balance the remaining atoms, which are carbon (C) and hydrogen (H).

Left side: 2 carbon atoms (C) and 6 hydrogen atoms (H) from C2H5OH.

Right side: 4 carbon atoms (C) from CH3COOH and 4 hydrogen atoms (H) from CH3COOH.

To balance the carbon and hydrogen atoms, we multiply C2H5OH by 4 on the left side.

4 C2H5OH + 2 K2Cr2O7 + 3 H2SO4 = 2 Cr2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + 4 CH3COOH + H2O

Now, the equation is balanced with 4 ethanol molecules and all the atoms properly accounted for on both sides of the equation.