What is the balance formula?

A balanced equation is an equation for a chemical reaction in which the number of atoms for each element in the reaction and the total charge is the same for both the reactants and the products. In other words, the mass and the charge are balanced on both sides of the reaction.

How do you write a balanced chemical equation?

Identify the reactants and the products in the reaction and write their chemical formulae. Write the equation by putting the reactants on the left of the arrow and the products on the right. Count the number of atoms of each element in the reactants and the number of atoms of each element in the products.

What are the steps to balancing equations?

Change the coefficients (the numbers in front of the compound or molecule) so that the number of atoms of the element is the same on each side of the equation. Remember, to balance an equation, you change the coefficients, not the subscripts in the formulas.

What does a balanced equation look like?

A balanced chemical equation occurs when the number of the atoms involved in the reactants side is equal to the number of atoms in the products side. In the products side, there are 1 nitrogen (N) atoms and 3 hydrogen (H) atoms. The number of the atoms is not balanced on both sides.

Why is it important to balance a chemical equation?

A balanced equation obeys the Law of Conservation of Mass. This is an important guiding principal in science. Finally, a balanced equation lets up predict the amount of reactants needed and the amount of products formed.

How do you balance an equation algebraically?

The strategy for balancing chemical equations algebraically is as follows:Write a different letter coefficient in front of each compound in the equation.Write algebraic expressions or rules for each element that equate its atoms on the LHS and RHS.

What four guidelines are useful in balancing an equation?

(1) Balance different types of atoms one at a time; (2) balance types of atoms that appear only once on each side of the equa- tion first; (3) balance as single units any polyatomic ions that appear on both sides of the equation; and (4) balance H atoms and O atoms last.