Question

Balance the following equations:

$\mathrm{Na}+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\to \mathrm{NaOH}+{\mathrm{H}}_2$

Answer 1

Step 1: Balancing chemical equations:

Giving an equal number of atoms for each element in the chemical reaction on both sides of the chemical equation is called balancing a chemical equation.

Step 2: Balancing the given equation:

The given equation is:

$\mathrm{Na}+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\to \mathrm{NaOH}+{\mathrm{H}}_2$

Make a table for the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the chemical equation.

Number of atoms of an element	In reactants	In products
Number of Na atoms	1	1
Number of H atoms	2	3
Number of O atoms	1	1

The number of atoms for hydrogen (H) is unequal; to balance, add 2 as a coefficient in front of the formula of water.

Now, add two in front of sodium (Na) on the reactant side and two as a coefficient in front of sodium hydroxide (NaOH).

Hence, the balanced chemical equation is the following:

$2\mathrm{Na}+2{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\to 2\mathrm{NaOH}+{\mathrm{H}}_2$