Answer:
2 AlCl₃ + 3 Pb(NO₃)₂ ---> 2 Al(NO₃)₃ + 3 PbCl₂
Step-by-step explanation:
This is a double-displacement reaction. The general structure of these reactions are:
AB + CD ----> AD + BC
In these reactions, the cation of one molecule is swapped with the cation of another molecule. To find the products, you first need identify the charge on each ion. This is important to know so that you can balance the new molecule via subscripts.
AlCl₃ = Al³⁺ and Cl⁻
Pb(NO₃)₂ = Pb²⁺ and NO₃⁻
Therefore, one of the new products should be a combination of Al³⁺ and NO₃⁻ and the other should be Pb²⁺ and Cl⁻. An easy way to balance the charges in the new molecules is to the make the charge on the cation the subscript of the anion (and vice versa). For instance, since Pb has a +2 charge, the chlorine should have a 2 subscript.
The unbalanced equation:
AlCl₃ + Pb(NO₃)₂ ---> Al(NO₃)₃ + PbCl₂
Reactants: 1 aluminum, 3 chlorine, 1 lead, 2 nitrate
Products: 1 aluminum, 2 chlorine, 1 lead, 3 nitrate
The balanced equation:
2 AlCl₃ + 3 Pb(NO₃)₂ ---> 2 Al(NO₃)₃ + 3 PbCl₂
Reactants: 2 aluminum, 6 chlorine, 3 lead, 6 nitrate
Products: 2 aluminum, 6 chlorine, 3 lead, 6 nitrate