Unit+1-Balancing+Equations

** __Balancing Chemical Equations__ ** You may remember that the **//law concervation of mass //**says //**that matter is neither created or destroyed in a reaction**.// This means that all chemical reactions must be balanced—the number of atoms, moles, and ultimately the total mass must be kept during a chemical process. You need to know these definitions:
 * __Co-efficient__**:The bigger number in from of the elements (ie: 3 CO 2 ) The big 3 is the co-efficient

__**Subscript**__: The smaller number under the elements (ie: O2 the little 2 is the subscript)


 * __Reagent__**: The substances that produces a chemical reaction.


 * __Products__**:The final substance after the chemical reaction

__**Here are the rules to follow when balancing equations**: __ 1.Determine the correct formulas for all the reactants and products in the reaction.

2.Begin balancing with the most complicated-looking group. A polyatomic ion that appears unchanged on both sides of the equation can be counted as a single unit.

3.Keep your eye out for diatomic molecules such as oxygen, hydrogen, and the halogens. (ie: O 2, H 2 etc)

4.If you get stuck, double the most complicated-looking group and try again.

5.Finally, make sure that all coefficients are in the lowest-possible ratio. When balancing reactions, keep your hands off the subscripts! Use only co-efficients to balance chemical equations. Now let’s try an example. When you solve it yourself, make sure to follow the steps!  Write the balanced equation for the reaction between chlorine and sodium bromide, which produces bromine and sodium c ** **hloride. ** **Explanation:** First write the chemical formulas—be on the lookout for the diatomic elements (such as Cl 2  Cl 2 + NaBrBr 2 + NaCl  Next, find the reagent with the scariest subscripts. In this case, start with Cl2. You need a coefficient of 2 in front of NaCl, which then requires a coefficient of 2 in front of NaBr. The balanced equation becomes <span class="question_inline"> Cl 2 + 2NaBrBr 2 + 2NaCl   Finally, count up everything to make sure you balanced the equation correctly. If you are a visual learner, I would consider watching this video.[|Balancing Equation]
 * Example: