Chemical Reaction Balancing: Tips and Tricks

How to balance a chemical equation?

When balancing a chemical equation, what coefficient should be placed in front of NaCl in the equation BaCl2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) = BaCO3(s) + NaCl(aq)?

Answer:

The coefficient placed in front of NaCl to balance this equation should be 2

Explanation:

Chemical reaction balancing: Balancing a chemical equation is crucial in chemistry as it ensures that the number of different atoms of elements present in the reactant side is equal to the number of different atoms of elements present in the product side.

Given unbalanced chemical reaction: BaCl2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) = BaCO3(s) + NaCl(aq)

Balanced chemical reaction: BaCl2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) = BaCO3(s) + 2NaCl(aq)

By stoichiometry, 1 mole of barium chloride reacts with 1 mole of sodium carbonate to produce 1 mole of barium carbonate and 2 moles of sodium chloride. Therefore, the coefficient placed in front of NaCl to balance this equation should be 2.