Question

A chemical equation is shown below.

CH4 + Cl2 → CCl4 + HCl

What are the coefficients that should be added to balance this equation? Use complete sentences to explain your answer.

Explain how this chemical reaction demonstrates the conservation of mass.

Answer 1

Start by balancing the carbon atoms:

There is one carbon atom on each side of the equation, so carbon is already balanced.

Next, balance the hydrogen atoms:

There are four hydrogen atoms on the left (in CH4), so we need four HCl molecules on the right to balance the hydrogen atoms. The equation now becomes:

CH4 + Cl2 → CCl4 + 4HCl

Now, balance the chlorine atoms:

There are two chlorine atoms on the right (in CCl4), so we need two Cl2 molecules on the left to balance the chlorine atoms. The equation now becomes:

CH4 +

Step-by-step explanation:

Even though the number of atoms on the left side (reactants) is 7 and on the right side (products) is 9, the law of conservation of matter is still upheld. This is because we need to consider the coefficients (the numbers in front of each compound) to account for the total mass. When you balance the equation and adjust the coefficients, you'll find that the total number of atoms remains the same on both sides, satisfying the law of conservation of matter.

Answer 2

The coefficients needed to balance the chemical equation CH4 + Cl2 ⇒ CCl4 + HCl are 1 for CH4, 4 for Cl2, 1 for CCl4, and 4 for HCl. Balancing the equation maintains the law of conservation of mass by ensuring that the same number of each atom is present on both sides, which shows that mass is neither created nor destroyed in this reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

To balance the given chemical equation, CH4 + Cl₂ ⇒ CCl₄ + HCl, we need to follow certain steps to ensure that atoms of each element are equal on both sides, demonstrating the law of conservation of mass. Let's count the number of each atom in the reactants and products:

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• Carbon (C): There's 1 atom on both sides of the equation.
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• Hydrogen (H): There are 4 atoms in the reactant (CH4) and only 1 in the product (HCl), so we need to multiply HCl by 4 to balance hydrogen.
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• Chlorine (Cl): There are 2 atoms in the reactant (Cl₂) and 4 in the product (CCl₄) plus 4 from the 4 HCl, totaling 8 chlorine atoms. Therefore, we need to balance chlorine by adjusting the coefficients.

To balance chlorine, we can multiply Cl₂ by 4 on the reactant side because CCl₄ has 4 atoms of chlorine and 4 HCl also contribute 4 more atoms of chlorine. The balanced chemical equation is now CH4 + 4 Cl₂ ⇒ CCl₄ + 4 HCl.

This balancing act is a demonstration of the law of conservation of mass, which states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. By ensuring that each type of atom is present in equal numbers on both sides of the equation, mass is conserved. Thus, you can see how atoms are rearranged, but their total mass remains constant.