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Balancing Chemical Equations Remember: In a chemical reaction, atoms are neither created nor destroyed. In other words, if you have a certain amount of an element in the beginning, then you have to have the same amount in the end. Likewise if you have it at the end you had to of had it at the beginning. Here are the basic steps to follow when balancing equations. You should always use pencil when balancing equation so that you can erase any mistakes. 1st Count the atoms of each element on each side of the arrow in an equation. Ex. CH4 + O2 CO2 + H2O C=1 C=1 H=4 H=2 O=2 0=3 2nd We need to add compounds to get equal numbers of each element. You can only add whole amounts of a molecule. You can only add compounds that were in the original equation. You CANNOT add single atoms to balance the equation unless the element is in the original equations as a single atom. Think of this as a recipe and you can’t just start adding ingredients and expect the same result from the recipe. Ex. CH4 + O2 + O2 CO2 + H2O + H2O C=1 C=1 H=4 H=4 O=4 O=4 The correct way to write this is to put a coefficient to represent multiple molecules or formula units. You can only add coefficients to balance an equation. You can never change the subscripts. This would change the identity of that compound. A coefficient is placed before a molecule. A coefficient pertains to every element in the compound, regardless of parenthesis. The example below is telling us that there are 2 oxygen molecules (O2) in the reactants. That is a total of 4 oxygen atoms. Ex. CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O C=1 C=1 H=4 H=4 O=4 O=4 The equation is now balanced because there are equal amounts of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen on the reactant side and on the product side. 3rd The last step is to make sure that the coefficients are the lowest whole numbers possible. Ex. 2CH4 + 4O2 2CO2 + 4H2O can be reduced to CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O *This is a trial and error type of process. You will need to use pencil because you may have to try many times before you get the correct answer. Don’t give up. If one problem is giving you trouble, skip it and move to the next one. Then come back to that problem and try it again.