Chemical Equations and Balancing

📚 Key Concepts

🔹 Real-Life Example

Think of a chemical equation like a recipe. Just as a recipe tells you exactly how much flour, eggs, and sugar to use to make a cake, a balanced chemical equation tells you exactly how many atoms of each element participate in the reaction. If you use the wrong proportions in cooking, the cake won’t turn out right – similarly, unbalanced equations don’t represent reality correctly.

Chemical Equation: The method of representing a chemical reaction with the help of symbols and formulas of the substances involved in it is known as chemical equation.

Balanced Chemical Equation: A balanced chemical equation has number of atoms of each element equal on both sides.

🧪 Important Formulas

🔸 Balancing Steps

Step 1: Write the word equation

Step 2: Write the chemical formulas

Step 3: Count atoms on both sides

Step 4: Add coefficients to balance

Step 5: Verify the balance

Example: Unbalanced: Fe + H₂O → Fe₃O₄ + H₂

Balanced: 3Fe + 4H₂O → Fe₃O₄ + 4H₂

🔹 Balancing Rules

• Start with the most complex molecule
• Balance metals first, then non-metals
• Balance hydrogen and oxygen last
• Use whole number coefficients only
• Check your work by counting atoms

🔍 Advanced: State Symbols

• (s): Solid state
• (l): Liquid state
• (g): Gaseous state
• (aq): Aqueous solution (dissolved in water)

Example: 2H₂(g) + O₂(g) → 2H₂O(l)