Complete the following reaction and balance it:
The reaction can be solved in two steps:
1.Complete the reaction by writing the products: The reaction of Lead oxide with Hydrochloric acid produces Lead chloride and water. The chemical equation for the same is:
2. Balancing of the reaction by hit and trial method:
A chemical equation is said to be balanced when atoms of every element in the chemical equation are equal in number on both (reactant and product) sides.
To balance the chemical equation, begin by multiplying the element or compound which has less number of atoms with a number that would make the number equal on both sides.
The left-hand side (LHS) is the reactant side and the Right-hand side (RHS) is the product side.
Type of atoms | Number of atoms on L.H.S. | Number of atoms on R.H.S. |
Lead (Pb) | 1 | 1 |
Oxygen (O) | 1 | 1 |
Chlorine (Cl) | 1 | 2 |
Hydrogen (H) | 1 | 2 |
Balance the equation by multiplying Hydrochloric acid (HCl) on LHS by 2 as the number of atoms of Hydrogen and Chlorine is less on RHS.
Type of atoms | Number of atoms on L.H.S. | Number of atoms on R.H.S. |
Lead (Pb) | 1 | 1 |
Oxygen (O) | 1 | 1 |
Chlorine (Cl) | 2 | 2 |
Hydrogen (H) | 2 | 2 |
As the number of all the atoms is equal on both sides, the chemical equation is now balanced. So, the overall complete and balanced chemical equation is: