how do you balance this equation
K2SO4 + Ca(NO3)2 -> CaSO4 + KNO3
Kate, Peter, or Bob: Show your work or thinking.
what are you talking about this is someone, else
To balance the given chemical equation:
Step 1: Count the number of atoms for each element on both sides of the equation.
On the left-hand side:
K: 2
S: 1
O: 4
Ca: 1
N: 2
On the right-hand side:
Ca: 1
S: 1
O: 4
K: 1
N: 2
Step 2: Start by balancing the elements that appear in the most complex compounds first. In this case, we have CaSO4 and Ca(NO3)2.
Balance Calcium (Ca) atoms:
On the left-hand side, we have one Ca atom, and on the right-hand side, we also have one Ca atom. Calcium is already balanced.
Step 3: Balance the Sulfur (S) atoms:
On the left-hand side, we have one S atom, and on the right-hand side, we also have one S atom. Sulfur is already balanced.
Step 4: Balance the Oxygen (O) atoms:
On the left-hand side, we have 4 O atoms from K2SO4 and 6 O atoms from Ca(NO3)2, totaling 10 O atoms.
On the right-hand side, we have 4 O atoms from CaSO4 and 3 O atoms from KNO3, totaling 7 O atoms.
To balance the oxygen atoms, we can multiply the right-hand side by 10/7:
K2SO4 + 10/7 Ca(NO3)2 -> 4 CaSO4 + 3 KNO3
Now, we have balanced the oxygen atoms.
Step 5: Balance the Potassium (K) atoms:
On the left-hand side, we have 2 K atoms, and on the right-hand side, we have 3 K atoms. We need to balance the K atoms.
Multiply the left-hand side by 3 and the right-hand side by 2:
3 K2SO4 + 10/7 Ca(NO3)2 -> 4 CaSO4 + 6 KNO3
Now, the potassium atoms are balanced.
Step 6: Balance the Nitrogen (N) atoms:
On the left-hand side, we have 2 N atoms from Ca(NO3)2, and on the right-hand side, we have 6 N atoms from KNO3. We need to balance the N atoms.
Multiply the right-hand side by 2:
3 K2SO4 + 10/7 Ca(NO3)2 -> 4 CaSO4 + 12 KNO3
Now, the nitrogen atoms are balanced.
Step 7: Simplify the coefficients if necessary:
Multiply all the coefficients by the smallest possible integer to get whole number coefficients:
21 K2SO4 + 10 Ca(NO3)2 -> 28 CaSO4 + 84 KNO3
Now, the equation is balanced with whole number coefficients.
The balanced equation is:
21 K2SO4 + 10 Ca(NO3)2 -> 28 CaSO4 + 84 KNO3