Given the unbalanced equation shown:
_Al+_CuSo4 -> _Al2(SO4)3+_Cu
When the equation is balanced using the smallest whole-number coefficients, what is the coefficient of Al?
The answer is 2
To balance the given equation:
_Al + _CuSO4 -> _Al2(SO4)3 + _Cu
Start by counting the number of atoms on each side of the equation:
On the left side (reactants):
- Aluminum (Al): 1 atom
- Copper (Cu): 1 atom
- Sulfur (S): 1 atom
- Oxygen (O): 4 atoms
On the right side (products):
- Aluminum (Al): 2 atoms
- Sulfur (S): 3 atoms
- Oxygen (O): 12 atoms
- Copper (Cu): 1 atom
To balance the number of Aluminum (Al) atoms, we need to have the same number on both sides. Therefore, the coefficient of Al on the left side (reactants) should be 2 in order to match the 2 Al atoms on the right side (products).
So, the coefficient of Al is 2.
To balance the given equation, we need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is equal on both the reactant and product side of the equation.
Let's start by counting the number of atoms for each element in the unbalanced equation:
On the reactant side:
- Al: 1 atom
- Cu: 1 atom
- S: 4 atoms
- O: 4 atoms
On the product side:
- Al: 2 atoms
- S: 4 atoms
- O: 12 atoms
- Cu: 1 atom
To balance the equation, we need to adjust the coefficients in front of each compound. Let's start with Al:
On the reactant side, we have 1 Al atom. On the product side, there are 2 Al atoms. To balance the Al atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 2 in front of Al on the reactant side:
2Al + _CuSO4 -> _Al2(SO4)3 + _Cu
Now, let's check the other elements to see if they are balanced:
- Cu: On the reactant side, there is 1 Cu atom, and on the product side, there is 1 Cu atom. It is already balanced.
- S: On the reactant side, there are 4 S atoms, and on the product side, there are 3 S atoms. To balance the S atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 3 in front of CuSO4:
2Al + 3CuSO4 -> _Al2(SO4)3 + _Cu
- O: On the reactant side, there are 4 O atoms, and on the product side, there are 12 O atoms. To balance the O atoms, we need to put a coefficient of 6 in front of H2O:
2Al + 3CuSO4 -> _Al2(SO4)3 + 3Cu + 6H2O
Now, the equation is balanced. We obtained the final balanced equation by assigning the smallest whole-number coefficients:
2Al + 3 CuSO4 -> Al2(SO4)3 + 3 Cu + 6 H2O
The coefficient of Al, once the equation is balanced, is 2.