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How do you balance a chemical equation?

How to balance this chemical equation?

  • Ok, i am having a really hard time balancing out this particular equation. I know how to do it, is just the oxygen atoms are what's throwing me off because there are so many of them, i keep going around in circles. the teacher gave me the correct answer, I just don't know HOW she got it. So here is the eqation, PLEASE SHOW me HOW you got it step by step because I have an exam next week and I'm trying to understand how to go about this because it shouldn't be this hard. Thank a bunch. 10 points to the one with the most detailed step by step answer. thanks again. here is what needs balancing: and ALL the numbers ARE subscripts. KMnO4(aq) + CaC2O4(s) + H2SO4(aq) -->MnSO4(aq)+K2SO4(aq)+CaSO4(s)+CO2(g) +H2O(l) here is the right answer to the balanced equation: *remember, i want to now HOW to do it step by step: 2KMnO4(aq) + 5 CaC2O4(s) + 8 H2SO4(aq) --> 2MnSO4(aq) + 8 H2O(l) + 10 CO2(g) + K2SO4(aq) + 5 CaSO4(s)

  • Answer:

    I hate to say it, but it really is trial and error. You start with whatever you see is imbalanced and start adding. For instance, you can see there is K2 on the right , but only one K on the left. So you put a 2 on the left hand to start off and see how that changes the right side. You see right away that a 2(KMnO4) makes 2Mn and eight Oxygens. So now you got to add a 2 to the right side MnSO4 to give equal Mn on both sides. Now that you added 2 to the right side, that means you now have two SO4's , so now you got to go back to the left side and add at least a 2 in front of the H2SO4 to get enough SO4's. So you just go back and forth across the left side and the right side and keep adding one to the prefix and balance the other side for each addition you make. On your problem it is complicated since your prefix numbers are so big , like 10CO2, so you have many back and forth additions to get up to 10. Look at this link, but it pretty much is doing the same thing I told you.: http://www.sky-web.net/science/balancing_chemical_equations.htm

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I hate to say it, but it really is trial and error. You start with whatever you see is imbalanced and start adding. For instance, you can see there is K2 on the right , but only one K on the left. So you put a 2 on the left hand to start off and see how that changes the right side. You see right away that a 2(KMnO4) makes 2Mn and eight Oxygens. So now you got to add a 2 to the right side MnSO4 to give equal Mn on both sides. Now that you added 2 to the right side, that means you now have two SO4's , so now you got to go back to the left side and add at least a 2 in front of the H2SO4 to get enough SO4's. So you just go back and forth across the left side and the right side and keep adding one to the prefix and balance the other side for each addition you make. On your problem it is complicated since your prefix numbers are so big , like 10CO2, so you have many back and forth additions to get up to 10. Look at this link, but it pretty much is doing the same thing I told you.: http://www.sky-web.net/science/balancing_chemical_equations.htm

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