Question

Balance the following equations:

(iii) ${\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_6+{\mathrm{O}}_2\to {\mathrm{CO}}_2+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$

Answer 1

Step 1: Balanced chemical equation:

The chemical equation is said to be balanced if the count of atoms for each element is the same on both sides (reactant and product) of the reaction.

Step 2: Balancing the given equation:

The given equation is given below.

${\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_6+{\mathrm{O}}_2\to {\mathrm{CO}}_2+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$

Set up the table for the number of each element present in the chemical reaction.

Number of atoms for each element	In reactants	In products
C	2	1
H	6	2
O	2	1

To balance the reaction, add 4 in front of carbon dioxide $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$. Now, put 4 as a coefficient in front of ethane $\left({\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_6\right)$.

To balance the atoms of oxygen $\left({\mathrm{O}}_2\right)$ and water $\left({\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\right)$ molecules, add 7 and 4 respectively in front of them.

Hence, the balanced chemical equation is:

$2{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_6+7{\mathrm{O}}_2\to 4{\mathrm{CO}}_2+6{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$