Let's analyze and solve the given chemical equation step-by-step to determine if it is balanced.
The chemical equation provided is:
[tex]\[ 2 \text{NaOH} + \text{H}_2 \text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{Na}_2 \text{SO}_4 + \text{H}_2 \text{O} \][/tex]
We will check each element to ensure the number of atoms on the reactants side equals the number of atoms on the products side.
1. Sodium (Na):
- Reactants: [tex]\(2 \text{NaOH} = 2 \text{Na}\)[/tex]
- Products: [tex]\(\text{Na}_2 \text{SO}_4 = 2 \text{Na}\)[/tex]
2. Oxygen (O):
- Reactants: [tex]\(2 \text{NaOH} = 2\text{O}\)[/tex] and [tex]\(\text{H}_2 \text{SO}_4 = 4\text{O}\)[/tex]
- Total Reactants: [tex]\(2 + 4 = 6 \text{O}\)[/tex]
- Products: [tex]\(\text{Na}_2 \text{SO}_4 = 4\text{O}\)[/tex] and [tex]\(\text{H}_2 \text{O} = 1 \text{O}\)[/tex]
- Adjust for balanced equation: [tex]\(3 \text{H}_2 \text{O} = 3\text{O}\)[/tex]
- Total Products: [tex]\(4 + 2 = 6 \text{O}\)[/tex]
3. Sulfur (S):
- Reactants: [tex]\(\text{H}_2 \text{SO}_4 = 1 \text{S}\)[/tex]
- Products: [tex]\(\text{Na}_2 \text{SO}_4 = 1 \text{S}\)[/tex]
4. Hydrogen (H):
- Reactants: [tex]\(2 \text{NaOH} = 2\text{H}\)[/tex] and [tex]\(\text{H}_2 \text{SO}_4 = 2 \text{H}\)[/tex]
- Total Reactants: [tex]\(2 + 2 = 4 \text{H}\)[/tex]
- Products: [tex]\(\text{H}_2 \text{O} = 2\text{H}\)[/tex]
- Adjust for balanced equation: [tex]\(2 \text{H}_2 \text{O} = 4 \text{H}\)[/tex]
- Total Products: [tex]\(4 \text{H}\)[/tex]
As we can see, the equation is balanced because the number of atoms of each element matches on both sides of the equation.
Fill in the blanks:
The equation is __balanced__ because the number of hydrogen atoms __in the reactants and products is the same__. The number of sodium, oxygen, and sulfur atoms is __also balanced in the reactants and products__.
