Question

Why do chemical equations need to be balanced?

Answer 1

Balanced Chemical equation

• “According to the law of conservation of mass, mass can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. That is, the total mass of the elements present in the products of a chemical reaction has to be equal to the total mass of the elements present in the reactants.”
• A chemical equation is a mathematical expression of the chemical reaction which represents the product formation from the reactants. In an equation, the reactants are written on the left-hand side and the products are written on the right-hand side separated by a forward-headed arrow.
• A chemical equation should always be balanced as the law of conversation of mass states that the mass can neither be created nor be destroyed.

Example of the balanced chemical equation:

• When Nitrogen reacts with hydrogen, it forms ammonia gas.
• The chemical equation can be depicted as:

${\mathrm{N}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)+3{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\to 2{\mathrm{NH}}_3\left(\mathrm{g}\right)$