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Balancing Chemical Equations | Steps & Examples

Contributors: Laura Foist, Amy Meyers

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Table of Contents

 Balancing Chemical Equations

 How to Balance Chemical Equations

 Balancing Chemical Equations Examples

 Lesson Summary

Balancing Chemical Equations

A balanced chemical equation is a formula showing the ratio of each of the reactants and each of the
products. A balanced chemical equation will ensure that each element on the reactant side has an equal
amount on the product side. If there are 5 molecules of carbon on the reactant side, then the product
side will also have 5 molecules of carbon. This is important in connection with the law of conservation of
matter. The law of conservation of matter states that matter can not be created or destroyed, it can be
rearranged to make a new compound, but it cannot be fully destroyed or created from nothing. This
means that in a reaction every molecule needs to be accounted for to be a balanced chemical equation.

In chemical equations, this number of molecules used can be changed by using coefficients. A chemical
equation has each chemical listed, and before the chemicals, there is a whole number written (if there is
no whole number written then it is assumed to be one). This number before each chemical is called the
coefficient. It tells how many molecules or moles of that chemical are used in the reaction ratio.

What is a Balanced Chemical Equation?

A reaction with the reactants glucose and oxygen will form carbon dioxide and water. This describes a
general chemical reaction. The balanced chemical equation will show how many moles of glucose and
oxygen are needed (to use up all of the glucose and oxygen) and how many moles of carbon dioxide and
water will result. What is a balanced chemical equation, and what does it look like?

An unbalanced chemical equation may just list the chemicals in the reaction, such as glucose and oxygen
forming carbon dioxide and water:

C6H12O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

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The balanced chemical equation will add coefficients before each chemical to balance each element:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O

In this balanced chemical equation for every molecule of glucose, there need to be six molecules of
oxygen. This will form six molecules of carbon dioxide and six molecules of water. On the reactant side
there are:

6 atoms of carbon: coming from the glucose

12 atoms of hydrogen: coming from the glucose

18 atoms of oxygen: 6 come from the glucose and 12 from the oxygen

The coefficient of 6 before the oxygen is multiplied by the 2 atoms of oxygen in each molecule to find the
total of 12 atoms of oxygen atoms coming from the oxygen molecule. On the product side there are:

6 atoms of carbon: coming from the carbon dioxide

12 atoms of hydrogen: coming from the water

18 atoms of oxygen: 12 coming from the carbon dioxide and 6 coming from the water

Notice that on the reactant and product side there is the same number of atoms for each element,
which shows this is a balanced chemical equation.

How to Balance Chemical Equations

To go from an unbalanced chemical equation to a balanced chemical equation it is important to
understand how to balance chemical equations. Knowing how to balance chemical equations step by
step is important. These steps to balance a chemical equation are:

Change a word chemical equation into a formula

Balance each atom one at a time

First balance any atoms that appear in only a single molecule on the product and reactant side

Balance any non-hydrogen or oxygen atoms

Balance hydrogen and oxygen atoms

Count the atoms on the reactant and product side to check that the equation is balanced (if it isn't repeat step
2 until it is)

The order that each atom is balanced isn't critical to balancing a chemical equation, but the order
presented here is typically the easiest method to balance a chemical equation. But it often requires a
little trial and error to find the right coefficients necessary to balance the chemical equation. The steps
also frequently end up going back and forth.

When balancing a chemical equation only change the coefficient numbers, do not change the subscript
numbers, as this will change what molecule is reacting or being produced.

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Balancing Chemical Equations Examples

Using the steps of balancing a chemical equation, a chemical reaction can be given, and then the
equation can be written and balanced. If a word equation is given it is important to know what formula is
used. Hydrogen and oxygen exist as diatomic molecules, or H2 and O2. While elements such as sodium
and potassium exist as a single atom molecule, with a single N a or K .

Example 1
Sodium and water react to form sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. What is the balanced chemical
equation?

Step 1:

Write the equation in formula form:

Sodium is N a

Water is H2O

Sodium hydroxide is N aOH

Hydrogen gas is H2

This gives the unbalanced chemical formula: N a + H2O → N aOH + H2

Step 2:

Count the number of atoms on each side:

Products Reactants

Na 1 1

H 2 3

O 1 1

In this reaction, sodium and oxygen are already balanced (there is 1 atom on each side), but hydrogen is
not (there are 2 atoms on the reactant but 3 on the product side). Since the extra hydrogen atom cannot
simply appear from nowhere the reaction needs to be balanced.

The only source of hydrogen on the reactant side is in the water. It is impossible to increase the number
of hydrogen atoms on the reactant side by only 1 atom because each molecule of water has 2 atoms of
hydrogen, and for a balanced chemical equation, the coefficients need to be whole numbers.

If there are 2 molecules of water used this changes not only the amount of hydrogen on the reactant
side but also the amount of oxygen on the reactant side:

N a + 2H2O → N aOH + H2

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Video Transcript

Conservation of Matter
Conservation of matter is a basic law of physics that was discovered in the 19th century. Essentially
what it means is that matter is never created or destroyed. It can change into energy, but it never
disappears. Although the law is considered to be a law of physics, it also applies to chemistry. In a
chemical equation, the law of conservation of matter must be met. This means that whatever amount of
reactants you started with, this is the amount of product you end up with.

An example of a formula equation before it is balanced

Writing Equations
Remember that equations can be written in word form, such as methane + oxygen ↔ carbon dioxide +
water, but more often they are written in a shorthand fashion called a formula equation. This looks like
CH4 + O2 ↔ CO2 + H2 O. There is something wrong with this equation, though. This equation is not a
balanced equation. To be correctly written, it must have the same amount of elements on both sides of
the equation, and if you look, it doesn't. It has four hydrogens on the left, but only two hydrogens on the
right. That means matter was destroyed somewhere, and we know that can't happen.

When writing your formula equations, remember that a subscript refers to the atom directly before it.
So, in CH4, the 4 means four hydrogen atoms. Also, remember if there is a number in front of a
compound, that number applies to all the atoms in that compound. The number in front of a compound
or element is called the coefficient. When there isn't a number there, it is assumed to be the number 1.
So, if I put a 4 in front of CH4, so it looked like 4CH4, that would mean I have four carbons (four times
one) and 16 hydrogens (four times four).

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An explanation of the coefficient and subscript values

How to Balance an Equation

To write a balanced equation, here are the steps:

Step 1:
If you are given a word equation such as water ↔ hydrogen + oxygen, turn it into a formula equation. H2
O ↔ H2 + O2.

Step 2:
Balance the different types of atoms one at a time.

Step 2a:
First balance the atoms that are combined and appear only once on each side of the equation.

Step 2b:
Balance other compounds that appear on both sides of the equation.

Step 2c:
Balance the hydrogen (H) atoms and oxygen (O) atoms last.

Step 3:
Count the atoms on each side of the equation to make sure it is balanced.

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Example
So, here is the way it would work: You are given water ↔ hydrogen + oxygen.

Step 1: You rewrite it as H2 O ↔ H2 + O2.

Step 2 a: Balance the atoms that are combined and only appear once. Hmmm. This doesn't apply too
much in this example.

Step one is changing the word equation into its equivalent compounds.

Step 2b: There are no compounds on either side, so skip this step.

Step 2c: On the left side of the equation, we have two hydrogens. On the right side, we have two
hydrogens. YAY! These are balanced. On the left side, we have one oxygen. On the right side, we have
two oxygens. Boo, these aren't balanced. In order to balance them, we need to put a 2 in front of the H2
O. This gives us 2H2 O ↔ H2 + O2.

Step 3: Recount the atoms. Are they all balanced? Now we have two oxygens on the left and two on the
right. But recount your hydrogens. Now you have four hydrogens on the left and only two on the right.
So, what do you do? Go back to Step 2.

Step 2 (again): You add a 2 in front of the H2 on the right. Now the equation looks like 2H2 O ↔2 H2 +
O2.

Step 3: Recount the atoms. Are they all balanced? Four hydrogen on the left and four on the right. Two
oxygen on the left and two oxygen on the right. Yep, they are balanced, and we are done!

Practice Equations
Let's try a harder one: Cu + AgNO3 ↔ Cu(NO3) 2 + Ag

Step 1: Already done for you.

Step 2a: You can see that there is only one NO3 on the left side of the equation but two on the right, so
place a two in front of the AgNO3 on the left. It now looks like Cu + 2AgNO3 ↔ Cu(NO3) 2 + Ag.

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Step 2b: But, now you have two Ag (silver) atoms on the left and only one on the right, so put a two in
front of the Ag on the right. It now looks like Cu + 2AgNO3 ↔ Cu(NO3) 2 + 2Ag.

Step 2c: No oxygen or hydrogen standing alone, so this step is done.

Step 3: So, let's count things up. Left: 1Cu, 2Ag, 2NO3 . Right: 1Cu, 2Ag, 2NO3 . Woohoo! The equation is
balanced.

Lesson Summary
So, to review, all matter is conserved, including the matter in a chemical reaction. In order to show that
matter is conserved, you must write a balanced chemical equation. Balancing equations is easy. You just
follow the steps and make sure that the atoms on the left side of the equation equal the same number
on the right.

Step 1: Rewrite the word equation into a formula equation.

Step 2: Balance the different types of atoms one at a time.

Step 3: Check your work.

Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this lesson, you will be able to:

Explain the law of conservation of matter

List the steps involved in balancing chemical equations

Use those steps to balance chemical equations

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What are examples of balanced chemical equations?

A balanced chemical equation is any chemical equation that shows the proper ratio of reactants and
products. This includes 1 molecule of glucose plus 6 molecules of oxygen forming 6 molecules of
carbon dioxide and 6 molecules of water.

What are the steps to balancing chemical equations?

There are three general steps to balance a chemical equation. First, write the chemical formula as an
equation (ensure each molecule is properly written). Second, take each element, one by one, and
balance it. It is typically simplest to start with elements that only appear in one molecule on the
reactant and product sides, and end with oxygen and hydrogen. Finally, check your work by
counting the number of atoms for each element, and re-do step 2 if needed.

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