Write balnced chemical reactions for the following :-
a) Iron filings reacts with steam to produce iron oxide (3) and hydrogen gas .
b) Zinc carbonate decomposes to give CO2 and Zinc oxide .
The first step in writing a balanced chemical equation using the information given in the word form is to write the skeletal equation for the reaction. Thus, all the reactants and products are denoted by chemical formulae. For the first reaction:
Iron filings reacts with steam to produce iron oxide (3) and hydrogen gas
The skeletal equation will be
Fe + H2O → Fe2O3 + H2
The above equation is then balanced by hit and trial method. Thus, the balanced chemical equation for the reaction will
2Fe + 3H2O → Fe2O3 + H2
Similarly, for the second reaction the skeletal equation will be
ZnCO3 → ZnO + CO2
This equation is already balanced as there are equal number of atoms of all the elements on both the sides of the equation.