nacl+ h2o__naoh+cl2+h2 from algebraic method
Answers
Explanation:You have to count the number of atoms in both sides of the reaction to be equal, to make it a little easier you can make a list. So in the equation
N
a
+
H
2
O
→
N
a
O
H
+
H
2
, there are
1
−
N
a
−
1
2
−
H
−
3
1
−
O
−
1
So you multiply NaOH and H2O by 2, so you have 4 hydrogens in both sides, and then multiply Na by 2 to be equal to the NaOH you previously multiplied.
OR
I'm assuming that you're supposed to balance this chemical equation by inspection. You could also balance it by using oxidation numbers, but I don't think that you're supposed to go that route here.
So, your unbalanced chemical equation looks like this
Na
(
s
)
+
H
2
O
(
l
)
→
NaOH
(
a
q
)
+
H
2
(
g
)
Notice that you have
3
atoms of hydrogen on the products' side, but only
2
on the reactants' side.
Here is where a little experience can come in handy. You can multiply the sodium hydroxide by
2
to get a total of
4
atoms of hydrogen on the products' side.
This will allow you to simply double the number of water molecules to get
4
atoms of hydrogen on the reactants' side.
So you now have
Na
(
s
)
+
2
H
2
O
(
l
)
→
2
NaOH
(
a
q
)
+
H
2
(
g
)
Balance the atoms of sodium by multiplying sodium metal by
2
2
Na
(
s
)
+
2
H
2
O
(
l
)
→
2
NaOH
(
a
q
)
+
H
2
(
g
)
And now check to see if the atoms of oxygen are balanced. You have
2
atoms of hydrogen on the reactants' side and
2
on the products' side, which means that the equation is balanced.