Question

A student wrote a chemical equation as shown.

2H₂S+ 302 H₂O + SO₂

What should the student do to balance the equation?

Answer 1

Answer: The student must add 2 infront of both $H_2O$ and $SO_2$ to make the equation balanced.

Explanation:

A balanced chemical equation is one where all the individual atoms are equal on both sides of the reaction. It follows the law of conservation of mass.

For the given unbalanced chemical equation:

$2H_2S+3O_2\rightarrow H_2O+SO_2$

On the reactant side:

Atoms of H = 4

Atoms of S = 2

Atoms of O = 6

On the product side:

Atoms of H = 2

Atoms of S = 1

Atoms of O = 3

To balance the equation, a student must balance the atoms by adding 2 infront of both $H_2O$ and $SO_2$

For the balanced chemical equation:

$2H_2S+3O_2\rightarrow 2H_2O+2SO_2$