Balance the following the chemical equation:
C2H6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O
C2H6 + 7/2 O2 -> 2CO2 + 3H2O
To balance a chemical equation, you need to ensure that there is an equal number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. Let's balance the given equation step by step:
Step 1: Count the number of atoms on each side of the equation.
On the left side:
- Carbon (C): 2
- Hydrogen (H): 6
- Oxygen (O): 2
On the right side:
- Carbon (C): 1
- Hydrogen (H): 2
- Oxygen (O): 3
Step 2: Balance the carbons by putting a coefficient in front of CO2:
C2H6 + O2 → 2CO2 + H2O
Step 3: Balance the hydrogens by putting a coefficient in front of H2O:
C2H6 + O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
Step 4: Balance the oxygens by putting a coefficient in front of O2:
C2H6 + 7/2O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
The balanced equation is:
C2H6 + 7/2O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
To balance the chemical equation C2H6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O, you need to ensure that there is an equal number of atoms on both sides of the equation. Here is how you can balance the equation step by step:
1. Start by balancing the carbon atoms:
There are 2 carbon atoms on the left side and 1 carbon atom on the right side. To balance them, put a coefficient of 2 in front of CO2:
C2H6 + O2 → 2CO2 + H2O
2. Next, balance the hydrogen atoms:
There are 6 hydrogen atoms on the left side and 2 hydrogen atoms on the right side. To balance them, put a coefficient of 3 in front of H2O:
C2H6 + O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
3. Finally, balance the oxygen atoms:
There are 2 oxygen atoms in C2H6, 2 oxygen atoms in O2, and 4 oxygen atoms in 2CO2, totaling to 8 oxygen atoms on the left side. To balance them, put a coefficient of 7/2 (or 3.5) in front of O2:
C2H6 + 7/2O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
However, we typically want to deal with whole number coefficients, so we can multiply the entire equation by 2 to eliminate the fraction:
2C2H6 + 7O2 → 4CO2 + 6H2O
Now the equation is balanced with an equal number of atoms on both sides.