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Chapter 3: Problem 55

Why must a chemical equation be balanced? What law is obeyed by a balanced chemical equation?

Short Answer

Expert verified
A chemical equation must be balanced to comply with the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. Therefore, the law that is obeyed by a balanced chemical equation is the Law of Conservation of Mass.

Step by step solution

01

Concept of Balanced Chemical Equations

A chemical equation demonstrates chemical reactions with reactants on the left (what goes into the reaction) and products on the right (what comes out of the reaction). For instance, a chemical reaction is given by: \(2H_2 + O_2 → 2H_2O\). Here, the reactants are \(H_2\) and \(O_2\), and the product is \(H_2O\). A balanced chemical equation would ensure that for every atom of reactant(s) that we start with, we end up with the same amount of atom(s) in the product(s).
02

Reason for Balancing Chemical Equations

The reason for balancing chemical equations is to comply with the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. A chemical reaction just changes the way atoms are arranged. So, the number of atoms for each element before the reaction must be the same after the reaction. Chemical equations demonstrate reaction stoichiometry, which is the quantitative relation between reactants and products in a chemical reaction.
03

Law Obeyed by a Balanced Chemical Equation

A balanced chemical equation obeys the Law of Conservation of Mass. In other words, the total mass of the reactants will equal the total mass of the products. This implies that in balanced chemical reactions, the number and type of atoms are preserved.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food-flavor enhancer, has been blamed for "Chinese restaurant syndrome," the symptoms of which are headaches and chest pains. MSG has the following composition by mass: 35.51 percent \(\mathrm{C}, 4.77\) percent \(\mathrm{H}\), 37.85 percent \(\mathrm{O}, 8.29\) percent \(\mathrm{N},\) and 13.60 percent Na. What is its molecular formula if its molar mass is about \(169 \mathrm{~g}\) ?

If we know the empirical formula of a compound, what additional information do we need to determine its molecular formula?

In the formation of carbon monoxide, CO, it is found that \(2.445 \mathrm{~g}\) of carbon combine with \(3.257 \mathrm{~g}\) of oxygen. What is the atomic mass of oxygen if the atomic mass of carbon is 12.01 amu?

Ethylene \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{2} \mathrm{H}_{4}\right),\) an important industrial organic chemical, can be prepared by heating hexane \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{14}\right)\) at \(800^{\circ} \mathrm{C}:$$$\mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{14} \longrightarrow \mathrm{C}_{2} \mathrm{H}_{4}+\text { other products }$$ If the yield of ethylene production is 42.5 percent, what mass of hexane must be reacted to produce \)481 \mathrm{~g}$ of ethylene?

In a natural product synthesis, a chemist prepares a complex biological molecule entirely from nonbiological starting materials. The target molecules are often known to have some promise as therapeutic agents, and the organic reactions that are developed along the way benefit all chemists. The overall synthesis, however, requires many steps, so it is important to have the best possible percent yields at each step. What is the overall percent yield for such a synthesis that has 24 steps with an 80 percent yield at each step?
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