Question

Is the equation: Na + H₂O → NaOH + H₂ balanced? Why?

Answer 1

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

In the given reaction, the atoms are not balanced individually on both sides of the reaction. On the reactant side, there are only two hydrogen atoms while on the product side, there are three hydrogen atoms present in total. As, the number of hydrogen atoms is not balanced in the reaction, so the given reaction is an unbalanced reaction.

The balanced chemical equation will be: $2\mathrm{Na}+2{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\to 2\mathrm{NaOH}+{\mathrm{H}}_2$