What are the steps for balancing equations CHEMISTRY?

Answer 1

Start with elements that are not oxygen or hydrogen first.
then balance hydrogen or oxygen, depending on how they are distributed, if hydrogen occurs in two products and oxygen in just one, balance oxygen first. If the opposite is true, then reverse the process. That is the way I teach it to my students.

Na + H2O ---> NaOH + H2 (for example)

Na is balanced initially, so do nothing.
Now we see that oxygen only is found in NaOH, hydrogen is in NaOH and H2, so we balance oxygen first.

Na + 2 H2O ---> 2 NaOH + H2

Now Na is out of balance, so we must balance it:

2 Na + 2 H2O ---> 2 NaOH + H2

Now we check hydrogen last and see that it is balanced, so we do nothing.

Another

C3H8 + O2 ---> CO2 + H2O

Balance carbon first:

C3H8 + O2 ---> 3 CO2 + H2O

balance hydrogen (only found in water)

C3H8 + O2 ---> 3 CO2 + 4 H2O


Now oxygen:

C3H8 + 5 O2 ----> 3 CO2 + 4 H2O

Always check your work, it is a good policy.

Answer 2

You have to add all the amounts of atoms of the differnet chemical components on one side of the equation and then add all the amounts of atoms of the different components on the other side of the equation. Compare the two and if they are different, you have to start putting whole numbers in front of the molecules on one side or the other or both so that when these prefixes are multiplied through the molecule, the atoms add up to be equal on both sides.