Balancing equation
Na+H2o-NaoH+H2+H2o
To balance the equation Na + H2O → NaOH + H2 + H2O, follow these steps:
Step 1: Count the number of atoms on each side of the equation.
On the left side:
- Sodium (Na): 1 atom
- Oxygen (O): 1 atom
- Hydrogen (H): 2 atoms
On the right side:
- Sodium (Na): 1 atom
- Oxygen (O): 2 atoms
- Hydrogen (H): 5 atoms
Step 2: Start by balancing the atoms that appear in only one reactant and one product.
Since sodium (Na) appears on both sides with only one atom, it is already balanced.
Step 3: Balance the most complex molecule or compound first.
In this case, NaOH is the most complex molecule since it contains three different elements.
Step 4: Balance oxygen (O) by adjusting the coefficient in front of H2O.
Since there are two oxygen atoms on the right side, it can be balanced by putting a coefficient of 2 in front of H2O on the left side.
Now the equation becomes: Na + 2H2O → NaOH + H2 + O2
Step 5: Balance hydrogen (H) on the right side.
There are a total of five hydrogen atoms on the right side, so we need to put a coefficient of 4 in front of H2 on the left side.
The balanced equation is: 2Na + 2H2O → 2NaOH + H2 + O2
Now all the atoms are balanced, and the equation is properly balanced.