Balancing Chemical Equations
Steps to balance a chemical
equations
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
1st Block
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The following list will help me balance a chemical equation.
Step 1 – Write down the chemical equations carefully and neatly.
If it gets copied down wrong it will not balance correctly.
Step 2 - Circle or box in each chemical formula, remembering
that I cannot change things inside the boxes.
Step 4 – checking for the law of
conservation of mass
Step 3 – Identify the reactants and the products by drawing a
line from the yields arrow down the page. Label my column
headings for the next step E for elements, R for reactants and P
for products.
Step 4 – Count the number of atoms on each side of the equation
and place a number by the corresponding element either under
the R or P side of the equation. Also make sure that the same
elements occur on both sides of the equations.
Step 5 – Place a number in front of the chemical formulas where
necessary to balance the number of atoms of each element on
both the reactants and products side of the equation.
** Go through steps 4 and 5 until your equation balances.
Remember when you have the same element in 2 formulas on
the same side you add those together for the total number of
that element.
*** I can separate polyatomic ions into their elements or keep
them together if they do not change from the reactants to the
products side of the chemical equation.
Balancing a chemical equation makes sure that the same elements and number of atoms occur on
each side of the equation to comply with the Law of Conservation of Mass.