What is a balanced chemical equation? Why should chemical equations be balanced?
Answer
A balanced chemical equation has an equal number of atoms of different elements in reactants and products.
No. of atoms of elements in Reactants = No. of atoms of elements in Products
For eg,
Fe 2 O 3 + 2Al → Al 2 O 3 + 2Fe
|
Name of the Element |
No. of atoms in reactants |
No. of atoms in products |
|
Iron |
2 |
2 |
|
Oxygen |
3 |
3 |
|
Aluminium |
2 |
2 |
Number of atoms of Fe in reactants = Number of atoms of Fe in products = 2
Number of atoms of O in reactants = Number of atoms of O in products = 3
Number of atoms of Al in reactants = Number of atoms of Al in products = 2
- An unbalanced chemical equation is not an accurate representation of a chemical equation and thus it requires balancing.
- Chemical reactions should be balanced in order to obey the law of conservation of mass , which states that mass can neither be created nor be destroyed.
- Hence, the total mass of substances before the chemical reaction should be equal to the total mass of reactants after the reaction .
