Write and balance the chemical reaction when gaseous carbon monoxide reacts with hydrogen gas to form gaseous methane (CH4) & liquid water
1+3->1+1
CO(g)+3H2(g)→CH4(g)+H2O(l)
To write and balance the chemical reaction when gaseous carbon monoxide (CO) reacts with hydrogen gas (H2) to form gaseous methane (CH4) and liquid water (H2O), follow these steps:
Step 1: Write the unbalanced chemical equation:
CO + H2 → CH4 + H2O
Step 2: Balance the elements other than hydrogen and oxygen. In this case, we only have carbon (C) to balance. To balance carbon, we need the same number of C atoms on both sides of the equation. In this case, 1 carbon atom is present on the reactant side, and 1 carbon atom is present on the product side. So, carbon is already balanced.
Step 3: Balance the hydrogen atoms next. In the reactants, we have 2 hydrogen atoms, while in the products, we have 4 hydrogen atoms. To balance hydrogen, we can add a coefficient of 2 in front of H2 on the reactant side:
CO + 2H2 → CH4 + H2O
Step 4: Balance the oxygen atoms. We have 1 oxygen atom in the reactants and 2 oxygen atoms in the products. Since we need 2 oxygen atoms on the reactant side, we can add a coefficient of 1/2 in front of CO:
1/2 CO + 2H2 → CH4 + H2O
Step 5: Verify that all elements are balanced. We have 1 carbon atom, 4 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms on both sides of the equation. Therefore, the reaction is balanced.
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:
1/2 CO + 2H2 → CH4 + H2O
CO(g) + H2(g) ==> CH4(g) + H2O(l)
You can balance it.