207k views
2 votes
Which of the following should you use in order to balance a written chemical equation?

subscripts

superscripts

coefficients

a and c

User Myhouse
by
6.1k points

2 Answers

4 votes
answer is c, coefficients
User Anton Nikiforov
by
5.3k points
5 votes

Answer:

Coefficients.

Step-by-step explanation:

A general chemical reaction is given by:

aA + bB → cC + dD

Where a, b, c, and d are the stoichiometric coefficients. In a balanced equation, they will be written, so the amount of the elements will be equal on each side of the equation. The coefficient multiplies the atoms.

A subscript is a number that follows a letter below it, and in a chemical formula, it represents how much of that element is presented in the compound. For example in O₂, the subscript 2 represents that are two atoms of oxygen in the molecule.

A superscript follows the letter or number above it, and in an equation, it represents exponentiation: the number will be multiplied by itself the number times of the superscript. For example, in 5², the two represent that the 5 must be multiplied by itself two times: 5x5 = 25.

User Humpton
by
6.3k points