can someone please help me balance this equation?:
potassium permanganate reacts with iron(II)sulfate and sulfuric acid to produce iron(II)sulfate and manganese(II)sulfate and potassium sulfate and water
Of course, I can help you balance the equation!
The given chemical equation is:
KMnO₄ + FeSO₄ + H₂SO₄ → Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + MnSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂O
To balance it, we need to make sure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
Let's start with balancing the elements that appear in multiple compounds:
1. Balancing potassium (K) atoms:
There is one K atom on both sides of the equation, so K is already balanced.
2. Balancing manganese (Mn) atoms:
There is one Mn atom on the left side (KMnO₄) and one on the right side (MnSO₄). Mn is already balanced.
3. Balancing iron (Fe) atoms:
There is one Fe atom on the left side (FeSO₄) and two on the right side (Fe₂(SO₄)₃). To balance Fe, we need to multiply FeSO₄ by 2:
KMnO₄ + 2FeSO₄ + H₂SO₄ → Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + MnSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂O
4. Balancing sulfur (S) atoms:
There are 4 S atoms on the left side (4 in KMnO₄ and 1 in FeSO₄) and 4 S atoms on the right side (3 in Fe₂(SO₄)₃ and 1 in MnSO₄).
To balance S, we need to multiply H₂SO₄ by 3:
KMnO₄ + 2FeSO₄ + 3H₂SO₄ → Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + MnSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂O
5. Balancing oxygen (O) atoms:
There are 4 O atoms on the left side (4 in KMnO₄) and 14 O atoms on the right side.
To balance O, we need to multiply KMnO₄ by 7:
7KMnO₄ + 2FeSO₄ + 3H₂SO₄ → Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + MnSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂O
Now the equation is balanced with the correct number of atoms for each element.
The balanced equation is:
7KMnO₄ + 2FeSO₄ + 3H₂SO₄ → Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + MnSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂O