Question

Give the balanced equation for the following reaction:

Dehydration of formic acid by conc. sulphuric acid.

Answer 1

Balanced chemical equation:

A chemical equation in which the numbers of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation are equal is called a balanced equation.

Step 1: Representation of the chemical reaction

• Dehydration of formic acid (HCOOH) by conc. sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) to produce carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H₂O)
• The reaction can be written as:

HCOOH $$\begin{gathered} \stackrel{{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4}{\to } \\ \mathrm{Dehydration} \end{gathered}$$CO + H₂O

Step 2: Calculating the number of atoms on both sides of the reaction

Elements	Number of atoms on the reactant side	Number of atoms on the product side
C	1	1
H	2	2
O	2	2

Step 3: Balancing the uneven numbers of atoms on both the side of the reaction

• As the number of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms are equal so the equation is already balanced.

HCOOH $$\begin{gathered} \stackrel{{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4}{\to } \\ \mathrm{Dehydration} \end{gathered}$$CO + H₂O

Elements	Number of atoms on the reactant side	Number of atoms on the product side
C	1	1
H	2	2
O	2	2

Hence, the equation is balanced.

HCOOH (aq) $$\begin{gathered} \stackrel{{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4}{\to } \\ \mathrm{Dehydration} \end{gathered}$$CO (g) + H₂O(l)