GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2

MODULE 1 Q3
Writing and Balancing Chemical Equations

The water we drink every day, the sugar found in bread, the carbon dioxide gas produce
from burning a piece of paper are examples of compounds which are being produced as the
result of chemical reactions. These chemical reactions can be easily analyzed if they are
written through chemical equations. Knowing the process of expressing chemical reactions
through chemical equations will give us full understanding on how elements or compounds
combined or broken down to form new substances.

This module will discuss the process of expressing the chemical reactions through words
equations and balanced chemical equations properly and correctly
IMPORTANT VOCABULARY WORDS

Read the description of important terms that you will encounter in this module.

VOCABULARY WORD MEANING

1. Reactants Substances involved before a chemical reaction
2. Product Substance produced after a chemical reaction.
Chemical Reaction, Word Equation and Chemical Equation
Chemical Reaction is a process in which one or more substances are changed into new
substance with different physical and chemical properties. While Chemical Equation is the
shorthand for describing the course of chemical reaction wherein the reactants are always
written before the reaction or on the right side of the equation while the product is on the left
side of the equation. A Word Equation describes a chemical change using the names of the
reactants and products.

How to Write and Balance a Chemical Equation?

In writing and balancing the chemical equations, important symbols must be
remembered. Below are the common symbols used in writing and balancing chemical
equations.

SYMBOLS

1. , or = means separates the reactants from the products.

2. ( g ) or ( ) means gas

3. ( l ) means liquid

4. ( s ) or ( ) means solid

5. (aq) means aqueous, dissolved in water

6. or Heat means heat is applied

7. Pt means use as catalyst

Beside from the different symbols to be used in writing and balancing the chemical
equations, there are special names of compounds that must be considered as well as
whether a compound is diatomic. Below are the common names of some compounds.
 NAME FORMULA

Water H2O

Ammonia NH3

Methane CH4

Nitrous Oxide N2O

Nitric oxide NO

Hydrochloric Acid HCl (aq)

Nitric acid HNO3(aq)

Acetic Acid HC2H3O2(aq)

Sulfuric Acid H2SO4(aq)

Carbonic Acid H2CO3(aq)

Phosphoric acid H3PO4(aq)

Important Steps in Solving the Formula Mass of a Compound

In writing and balancing the chemical equations, do the following steps below. We
will use the sample problem as an example.
Nitrogen gas reacts to Hydrogen gas to produce Ammonia.

Step 1. Convert the given problem into a word equation.

Nitrogen gas + Hydrogen gas Ammonia
Step 2. Convert the word equation into a chemical equation.
N2(g) + H2(g) NH3(g)
Note that there is subscript written after the chemical symbol of Nitrogen at the
reactant side of the equation is 2 while the hydrogen is 2 as well. This is because both
nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas are diatomic substance. Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen
and other elements are diatomic substance. At the product side, the chemical formula of
ammonia is NH3.
Step 3. Balance the given chemical equation written in the step 2 by adding coefficient after
the chemical symbol or chemical formula.
N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g)
To explain how we came up with this balanced chemical equation, let us refer the
chemical equation in step 2. Let us determine the number of atoms of each element in
the reactant side and in the product side. Look at the diagram below showing the
subscript written after the chemical symbols and chemical formula in the chemical
equation.
Reactant side Element Product side
2 N 1
2 H 3

As you can see, the number of nitrogen atom in the reactant side is 2 while in the
product side is 1 as shown by their subscript. For the hydrogen atoms, there are 2 atoms at
the reactant side and 3 atoms for the product side. So, to balance the number of atoms at
the reactant side and product side, coefficient is added before the chemical symbol or the
chemical formula as indicated inside the parenthesis.

Reactant side Element Product side

2 N 1 (2) = 2
6 = (3) 2 H 3 (2) = 6
 Assessment
Problem Solving
Copper reacts with oxygen gas to produce copper oxide

Step 1. Convert the given problem into a word equation.

Step 2. Convert the word equation into a chemical equation.

Step 3. Balance the given chemical equation written in the step 2 by adding coefficient
after the chemical symbol or chemical formula.
Calculations with Balanced Equations

All kinds of matter that make up the universe are governed by the different laws of
Physics and Chemistry. And one of the laws in Chemistry which is very important for
this lesson is the Law of Conservation of Matter. The law of conservation of
matter, also known as the conservation of mass, states that the amount of matter in a
closed system never changes. In the context of chemical reactions, it means that the
amount of matter before and after the reaction are equal.

This module will discuss the various calculations involved in balanced equations
which include mole-to-mole conversion, mole-to-mass conversion, and mass-to-mass
calculation as well as how these calculations become useful to many of us.

IMPORTANT VOCABULARY WORDS

Vocabulary Word Meaning
Mole Amount of any substance that contains Avogardro’s Number of
particles (6.02 x 1023 atoms).
Mass The amount of matter possessed by an object.

Conservation of Matter
The law of conservation of matter, also known as the conservation of mass, states that
the amount of matter in a closed system never changes. Meaning, the amount of matter
before and after the reaction are always equal.

What are the Calculations Involved in a Balanced Equations?

There are three calculations involved in balanced equations. These are; ( 1 ) Mole-
to-Mole Conversion, ( 2 ) Moles-to-Mass Conversion and ( 3 ) Mass-to-Mass Calculation.
1. Mole-to-Mole Conversion

If the number of moles of one substance is given in the problem, we can

determine the number of moles of any of the other substances in the chemical
reaction or chemical equation by using a mole conversion factor based on the
coefficients in the balanced chemical equation.
Important Steps in Mole-to-Mole Conversion

In performing the Mole-to-Mole Conversion, do the following steps below. We will use
the sample problem below as an example.

4NH + 3O 2N + 6H O
3 2 2 2
How many moles of O2 are needed to react with 8 moles of NH3?
Step 1. Analyze the given chemical equation.

In the given chemical equation, there are;

No. of Mole Substance

4 NH3

3 O2

2 N2
6 H2O

Step 2. Identify the problem.

_ ? __ moles of O2 : 8 moles of NH3?

Step 3. Identify the conversion factor based from the balanced chemical equation.

Based from the given chemical equation, there are 3 moles of O2 for every 4
moles of NH3. Therefore, the conversion factor would be;

3 mole O2 or 4 mole NH3

Step 4. Dimensional Analysis using the identified conversion factor.

8 mole NH3 x 3 mole O 2__ = 6 mole

O2 4 mole NH3
2. Mole-to-Mass Conversion

The gram is the most convenient unit for measuring amounts of reactants or
products in the laboratory. In order to convert moles to grams or grams to moles, you
have to make use of the molar mass of the given compound.

Important Steps in Mole-to-Mole Conversion

In performing the Mole-to-Mass Conversion, do the following steps below. We will use
the sample problem below as an example.

4NH + 3O 2N + 6H O
3 2 2 2
How grams of O2 are needed to react with 10 moles of NH3?

Step 1. Identify the problem.

_ ?__grams of O2 : 10 moles of NH3?

Step 2. Identify the conversion factor based from the balanced chemical equation.

Based from the given chemical equation, there are 3 moles of O2 for every 4
moles of NH3. Therefore, the conversion factor would be;

3 mole O2 or 4 mole NH3

4 mole NH3 3 mole O2
Step 3. Find out the number of moles of O2 needed to react to 10 moles NH3 using the
Dimensional Analysis.

10 mole NH3 x
3 mole O 2__ = 7.5 mole O2 4 mole
NH3
Step 4. Change the moles of O2 to grams using the molar mass of O2 as conversion factor.
The molar mass of O2 is 32.0 g because each O has a mass number of 16.

7.5 mole O2 x _32.0 g O 2__ = 240.0 g O2 1 mole

O2
3. Mass-to-Mass Conversion

If the problem asks for the mass in grams of one substance and the mass of another
substance is given, do the following steps below. We will use the sample problem below as
an example.

2C2H + 7O 4CO + 6H O
6 2 2 2
How grams of O2 are needed to react with 250 g of 2C2H6?

Step 1. Identify the problem.

_ ?__grams of O2 : 250 grams of 2C2H6?

Step 2. Change the grams of 2C2H6 to moles of 2C2H6.

The molar mass of C2H6 is 30.0 g because the mass number of C is 12

multiply by 2 and that would be 24.0 g while the mass number of H is 1 multiply by 6
and that would be 6.0 g. So, the total molar of C2H6 is 30.0 g.

250 g C2H6 x 1 mole C 2 H 6__ = 8.33 mole C2H6 30.0 g

C2H6

Step 3. Change moles of C2H6 to moles of O2

8.33 mole C2H6 x

7 mole O 2__ = 29.2 mole O2 2 mole
C2H6
Step 4. Change the moles of O2 to grams of O2.

29.2 mole O2 x
32 g O 2__ = 934.0 g O 2 1 mole
O2
Therefore, the amount of oxygen needed is 934.0 grams.

ASSESSNENT:

SET OF CHEMICAL FORMULAS

1. The combustion of propane C3H8, a fuel used in background grills and camp
stoves, produces carbon dioxide and water vapor. How many moles of carbon
dioxide are formed from 5.60 moles of propane?
2. Solid xenon hexafluoride is prepared by allowing xenon gas and
fluorine gas to react. If 50.0g of xenon are consumed in the reaction,
how many grams of xenon hexafluoride are formed?