Question

Name the reactants and products in the following skeletal equation and balance them.
(v) $Na+H_{2}O\to NaOH+H_2$

Answer 1

The skeletal equation is:
$Na+H_{2}O\to NaOH+H_2$
Reactants are sodium and water, the products are sodium hydroxide and hydrogen.

• Count the number of atoms of each element.
• To equalize $H_2$, multiply $H_{2}O$ and $NaOH$ by $2$

$Na+2H_{2}O\to 2NaOH+H_2$

• To equalize $Na$, multiply it by $2$

$2Na+2H_{2}O\to 2NaOH+H_2$
Hence, the equation is balanced.