Question

Why do we have to balance chemical equations

Answer 1

Answer:

• Chemical equations are balanced to comply with the law of conservation of mass.

Explanation:

Law of conservation of mass states that matter cannot be either created or destroyed.

A skeleton chemical equation shows the reactants and products of a chemical reaction without taking into account the real proportion in which the reactants combine and the products are obtained.

An example of a skeleton reaction is the combustion of methane:

•    CH₄ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O

Such as that equation is shown, there are four atoms of hydrogen in the reactants but only 2 atoms of hydrogen in the products. Also, there are 2 atoms of oxygen in the reactants but three atoms of oxygen in the products. This seems to show that some atoms of hydrogen have been destroyed and some atoms of oxygen have been created. This is impossible as it is against the law of conservation of matter.

Then, to show a real situation, the chemical equation of combustion must be balanced, adjusting the coefficients. This is the balanced chemical equation:

•    CH₄ + 2O₂ → CO₂ + 2H₂O

Now you see that the number of atoms of each matter is conserved: the number of carbon atoms in each side is 1, the number of atoms of hydrogen in each side is 4, and the number of atoms of oxygen in each side is 4. Thus, by balancing the chemical equation, the law of conservation of mass is not violated.