Question

What happens when Iron burns in air? Write a balanced equation.

Answer 1

• When Iron burns in the air it reacts with the oxygen present in the air to form ferrous oxide.
• The equation of the reaction is-

$\underset{\mathrm{Iron}}{\mathrm{Fe}}+\underset{\mathrm{Oxygen}}{{\mathrm{O}}_2}\to \underset{\mathrm{Ferrous}\mathrm{oxide}}{{\mathrm{Fe}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3}$

Balancing-

• We multiply the oxygen molecule on the reactant side by 3 to get 6 atoms of oxygen on the reactant side.
• We multiply the ferrous oxide molecule on the product side by 2 to get 6 atoms of oxygen on the product side.
• To balance the number of Iron atoms on the reactant side we multiply it by 4.
• Now all the atoms of each element are equal on both sides.
• Hence, the balanced equation is-

$\underset{\mathrm{Iron}}{4\mathrm{Fe}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Oxgen}}{3{\mathrm{O}}_2\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Ferrous}\mathrm{oxide}}{2{\mathrm{Fe}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}$