Okay, I know that this isn't a homework help forum, but I seriously have NO IDEA how to balance these chemistry equations. I DON'T want to cheat, I just want to know WHAT THE HECK is going on. I suppose I would be a little less confused if I had a more competent teacher.... But that's not the issue now. I think if I understood this problem, I would get the rest of it:Na + H2O ---> Na(OH) + H2Na=1 --->Na=1H=2 ---->H=3O=1 ---->O=1So then you would want to balance your hydrogens, right?But then you get:Na=1 --->Na=1H=6 ---->H=6O=3 ---->O=1And then you have to keep changing the numbers, and then they ALL keep changing, so you get an endless cycle where they NEVER BALANCE, and I think I want to chunk my homework in the toilet and pee on it.
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Ahhhh!
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If you post questions like that here, please make sure you know who to listen to and who not to listen to. Some of these cats will get you a bad grade.
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But how you got it is the point. I don't care about getting the worksheet answers right, I just want to know HOW to do it.And I kind of already knew that he just gives you bs, which I am NOT in the mood for right now.
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I honestly have no idea. I was horrible at chemistry. However; if you need help at anything finance related you can ask me
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Its been far to long since I took a chem class, the shit I use I know and what you got aint it!
I did find a page of worked problems that provide explanations as to how and why. here
The only thing I can tell you is that in school and up till a few months ago I sucked in math, while trying to help my brother over the phone one night with his sons homework I cam across a web page the explained it as it was worked and thats when I realized it wasnt me that was the idiot it was my teachers, a shitty teacher makes all the difference in your ability. FOr the first time I fhad the methods explained and shit started to make sense. I no longer have the problems completing math that I did and I suggest you look into other sources for explanations as it may mean the difference between you being able to do it to pass a test and you being able to comprehend it so you cna use it in life if ever the need arises. -
It's a tricky one to balance. Mathematically you can do it by simultaneous equations but people usually do it by educated fiddling. For example, you see that the hydrogens don't balance, but if you change the number of waters you change the oxygen too. However if you change the number of H2 molecules you don't change any other atoms. You start with two H on the left-hand side but three on the right. One of the three is from NaOH and you don't want to touch that, but the other two come from H2, and you only want one. Very well, make it half an H2:
Na + H2O --> NaOH + 1/2 H2
That's balanced, and is perfectly all right. If you don't like halves, multiply everything by two:
2 Na + 2 H2O --> 2 NaOH + H2
That's balanced and fine, too.
If you multiply that by three you get BigPunisher's answer, which was sort of right, but had that unnecessary factor of three in it.
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Thank you! That makes so much sense!
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wow that reminds me of Chem 115. I cannot wait to be back at a real college. This community stuff is a joke, but I admire the teachers that really try to help people succeed. I love that chem stuff. I just never admitted it. I guess when I was at school I was too worried about fitting in and such.A2A is great
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Now comes the fun part, balancing the reaction. The Law of Conservation of Mass states that in a chemical reaction there is no loss of mass. Each type of element will have the same amount before the reaction and after the reaction, or as reactant and product. But you can?t change the materials that participate in the reaction, so you must write an integer coefficient in front of (to the left of) each material in the reaction to make sure every type of atom has the same number on each side of the reaction. Let?s start with the reaction of the Haber process: Nitrogen gas plus hydrogen gas under pressure and at high temperature turn into ammonia. First write the materials correctly. Nitrogen and hydrogen are diatomic gases. Ammonia is a binary covalent memory item. The nitrogen and hydrogen are the reactants, and the ammonia is the product. Leave room for the coefficients in front of the materials. _ N2 + _ H2 _ NH3 You can begin with either the nitrogen or the hydrogen. There are two nitrogen atoms on the left and only one on the right. In order to balance the nitrogen atoms, place a ?2? in front of the ammonia. _ N2 + _ H2 2 NH3There are two hydrogens on the left and six on the right. We balance the hydrogens by placing a ?3? in front of the hydrogen gas. _ N2 + 3 H2 2 NH3Now go back and check to make sure everything is balanced. There are two nitrogen and six hydrogens on both sides of the reaction. It is balanced. There is no coefficient shown in front of the nitrogen. There is no need to write ones as coefficients. The reaction equation is:N2 + 3 H2 2 NH3
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Wait! You don't think that was off the cuff do you? I just can never get the links to work. Sorry if you all were mislead. Steve's gonna be on me for sure. lol Just hope it helps.
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Stop! you're makin' me blush.