Question

Write a balanced chemical equation describing the reaction of zinc and hydrochloric acid.

Answer 1

Explanation:

When zinc chemically reacts with hydrochloric acid in chemical reaction then it leads to the formation of zinc chloride along with evolution of hydrogen gas.

Chemical equation which represents this chemical reaction is as follows.

        $Zn + HCl \rightarrow ZnCl_{2} + H_{2}$

Number of atoms on reactant side are as follows.

Zn = 1

H = 1

Cl = 1

Number of atoms on product side are as follows.

Zn = 1

H = 2

Cl = 2

Hence, to balance this equation we will multiply HCl by 2 on reactant side. Therefore, the balanced chemical equation is as follows.

              $Zn + 2HCl \rightarrow ZnCl_{2} + H_{2}$

Answer 2

The chemical formula for zinc is Zn, and HCl for hydrogen chloride. The complete balanced equation for these reactants would be:

Zn + 2 HCl → ZnCl₂ + H₂

The stoichiometric coefficient 2 for HCl is essential to obey the Law of Conservation of Mass. The elements before and after the reaction must be equal in amounts.