Question

Sulfur tetrafluoride, sf4, reacts slowly with oxygen, o2, to form sulfur tetrafluoride monoxide, osf4, according to the following unbalanced reaction: sf4(g)+o2(g)→osf4(g)when the equation is balanced, what are the coefficients?.

Answer 1

Let a, b, c be the coefficients of the balanced reaction

a SF₄ + b O₂   ⇒   c OSF₄

The atom counts for each element among the reactants should be the same as with the products:

• S : a = c

• F : 4a = 4c

• O : 2b = c

If b = 1, it follows that a = c = 2. So the balanced reaction is

2 SF₄ + 1 O₂   ⇒   2 OSF₄