2. Balance the following equations by the LCM method.
a PCl5+ H20→ H3PO4 + HCl
1) First, write out the unbalanced equation:
PCl5 + H2O → H3PO4 + HCl
2) Determine the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation:
Left side:
P: 1
Cl: 5
O: 1
H: 2
Right side:
P: 1
Cl: 1
O: 4
H: 4
3) Find the least common multiple (LCM) of the coefficients for each element. In this case, the LCM for P is 1, Cl is 5, O is 4, and H is 2.
4) Multiply the coefficients by the LCM to balance the equation:
PCl5 + 4H2O → H3PO4 + 5HCl
Now the equation is balanced.