Final answer:
The right side of a chemical equation must have the same number of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms as the left side to follow the law of conservation of matter, which requires a chemical equation to be balanced.
Step-by-step explanation:
If one side of a chemical equation has 3 carbon atoms, 6 oxygen atoms, and 4 hydrogen atoms, then to satisfy the law of conservation of matter, the other side of the equation must have the same number of each of these atoms.
When balancing chemical equations, it's important to ensure that the number of atoms for each element is equal on both sides of the reaction arrow. For example, if we start with an equation that has 2 carbons and 6 hydrogens on one side, we need to end up with 2 carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules and 3 water (H2O) molecules on the other side if these are the products, ensuring there are 2 carbons and 6 hydrogens. After that, we just need to balance the oxygens. The coefficients and substances will vary depending on the specific chemical reactions involved, but the total number of each atom must always be conserved.