Balance the following equation
Fe So4 - Fe2 O3+ So2 + So3
Answers
Answer:
2FeSO4→Fe2O3+SO2+SO3
Explanation:
Start by identifying the oxidation state for each of the element:
+2Fe+6S−2O4→+3Fe2−2O3++4S−2O2++6S−2O3−NOT BALANCED
Only three of the four chemicals- FeSO4, Fe2O3, and SO2 are directly involved in the redox reaction.
The oxidation state of iron Fe has increased from
+2 in +2Fe+6S−2O4 to
+3 in +3Fe2−2O3 by one
and therefore Fe is oxidized.
The oxidation state of sulfur S has declined from
+6 in +2Fe+6S−2O4 to
+4 in +4S−2O2 by two
and therefore some of the sulfur atoms have been reduced.
The total increases in oxidation numbers shall be the same as the sum of decreases in oxidation numbers in a balanced redox reaction.
The oxidation number increases by 1 for each mole of Fe atom oxidized and decreases by 2 for each mole of S oxidized.
Therefore for each mole of S reduced, two moles of Fe atoms shall be oxidized.
Note that sulfur dioxide, +4S−2O2, is the only species containing sulfur atoms of oxidation state +4. Thus all of the reduced sulfur atoms would end up in SO2.
The number of moles of sulfur atoms reduced shall therefore equal to the number of SO2 molecules produced. This number would be slightly smaller than that of +2Fe+6S−2O4 given that sulfur atoms that were not reduced got eventually into +6S−2O3.
Add coefficients 2 and 1 in front of FeSO4 and SO2, respectively:
2l+2Fe+6S−2O4→+3Fe2−2O3+1l+4S−2O2++6S−2O3−NOT YET BALANCED
Deduce coefficients for the rest of the species based on the conservation of iron and sulfur atoms.
2l+2Fe+6S−2O4→1l+3Fe2−2O3+1l+4S−2O2+1l+6S−2O3−BALANCED
Take coefficients "1" out of the expression:
2lFeSO4→Fe2O3+SO2+SO3
Explanation:
Answer:
2FeSo4 - Fe2O3+So2+So3
