Question

Fill in the coefficients that will balance the following reaction:

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

                   aCa + bCO₂ +  cO₂ →  dCaCO₃

Chemical reactions obey the law of conservation of matter. The law states that  "matter is neither created nor destroyed in the course of a chemical reaction". From this, we can deduce that the total mass of the products and reactants are equal.

To balance a chemical reaction, we can do so by inspecting the atoms/compounds involved and putting the appropriate coefficients at the back of the reactants and products. For equations in which inspection might not easily work, we can use a mathematical approach.

By inspecting the reaction above, we can easily balance it

Using the mathematical approach:

The coefficients are a,b,c and d. They are needed to conserve the atoms. So:

For Conservation of Ca: a = d                        (i)

                                  C: b = d                       (ii)

                                  O: 2b + 2c = 3d            (iii)

if we assume that a = 1, then d = 1

                               b = 1

                    from (iii): 2c = 3d -2b

                                    2c = 3- (2 X 1)

                                     2c = 1

                                        c = $\frac{1}{2}$

Therefore we have a = 1

                                  c = $\frac{1}{2}$

                                  b = 1

                                   d = 1

                              aCa + bCO₂ +  cO₂ →  dCaCO₃

                           Ca + CO₂ + $\frac{1}{2}$O₂ → CaCO₃