Why is it essential to use balanced chemical equations when determining the quantity of a product formed from a given quantity of a reactant?

Balanced chemical equations represent chemical reactions in which the number of atoms of each element in the reactants is equal to the number of atoms of that same element in the products. This is in accordance with the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.

Stoichiometry is the quantitative relationship between reactants and products in a chemical reaction. In a balanced chemical equation, the coefficients of the reactants and products represent their respective moles. These coefficients indicate the ratio in which the reactants combine and produce the products, making it possible to determine the quantity of one substance required or produced based on the quantity of another.

Using balanced chemical equations is essential for several reasons: 1. It ensures that the reaction follows the law of conservation of mass. 2. It allows us to determine the correct proportions of reactants and products. 3. It helps to predict the quantities of products formed or reactants required based on the stoichiometric relationships in the equation. If we don't use a balanced chemical equation to determine the quantity of a product formed from a given reactant, our results may not be accurate or reliable, leading to incorrect predictions.

Let's consider the following unbalanced chemical reaction between hydrogen gas (H₂) and oxygen gas (O₂) to form water (H₂O): H₂ + O₂ → H₂O Now suppose we want to determine how much water is produced from 4 moles of hydrogen gas. We first need to balance the chemical equation: 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O With the balanced equation, we see that 2 moles of hydrogen react with 1 mole of oxygen to produce 2 moles of water. We can use this information as a conversion factor to calculate the quantity of water formed: Quantity of water formed = (4 moles H₂) x (2 moles H₂O / 2 moles H₂) = 4 moles H₂O Thus, using the balanced chemical equation ensures we get the correct quantity of the product (water in this case) formed from the given reactant (hydrogen gas).