Question

Fill in the coefficients that will balance the following reaction:

a0Ca + a1CO2 + a2O2 → a3CaCO3

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

aCa + bCO₂ + cO₂ → dCaCO₃

Chemical reactions obey the law of conservation of matter. The law states that "matter is neither created nor destroyed in the course of a chemical reaction". From this, we can deduce that the total mass of the products and reactants are equal.

To balance a chemical reaction, we can do so by inspecting the atoms/compounds involved and putting the appropriate coefficients at the back of the reactants and products. For equations in which inspection might not easily work, we can use a mathematical approach.

By inspecting the reaction above, we can easily balance it

Using the mathematical approach:

The coefficients are a,b,c and d. They are needed to conserve the atoms. So:

For Conservation of Ca: a = d (i)

C: b = d (ii)

O: 2b + 2c = 3d (iii)

if we assume that a = 1, then d = 1

b = 1

from (iii): 2c = 3d -2b

2c = 3- (2 X 1)

2c = 1

c =
`(1)/(2)`

Therefore we have a = 1

c =
`(1)/(2)`

b = 1

d = 1

aCa + bCO₂ + cO₂ → dCaCO₃

Ca + CO₂ +
`(1)/(2)`O₂ → CaCO₃