hydrogen gas combines with nitrogen to form ammonia how do we translate and then balance this equation?
To translate and balance the chemical equation for the synthesis of ammonia from hydrogen gas and nitrogen, you can follow these steps:
Step 1: Translate the statement into a chemical equation:
Hydrogen gas (H2) + Nitrogen (N2) → Ammonia (NH3)
Step 2: To balance the equation, you start by counting the number of atoms on each side of the equation.
On the left side, there are two hydrogen atoms and two nitrogen atoms, while on the right side, there are three hydrogen atoms and one nitrogen atom.
Step 3: Begin balancing the equation by adding coefficients (numbers in front of the chemical formulas) to adjust the number of each type of atom.
H2 + N2 → NH3
Since there are less nitrogen atoms on the right side, we can balance them first. We add the coefficient 2 in front of NH3 to have two nitrogen atoms on both sides:
H2 + N2 → 2NH3
Now, there are four hydrogen atoms on the right side.
Step 4: Balancing hydrogen atoms. We add the coefficient 3 in front of H2 to have six hydrogen atoms on both sides:
3H2 + N2 → 2NH3
Now, the equation is balanced with three molecules of hydrogen gas, one molecule of nitrogen gas, and two molecules of ammonia.
Therefore, the balanced equation is:
3H2 + N2 → 2NH3