Final answer:
The correct order of coefficients to balance the chemical equation FeS + O2 → Fe2O3 + SO2 is 4FeS + 7O2 → 2Fe2O3 + 4SO2. This ensures that the number of Fe, S, and O atoms are the same on both sides of the equation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Chemical Equation Balancing for FeS and O2 Reaction
To find the correct order of coefficients for the reaction FeS + O2 → Fe2O3 + SO2, we need to balance the chemical equation. Balancing chemical equations involves making sure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on the reactant and product sides of the equation. In this case, we adjust the coefficients to ensure that iron (Fe), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O) atoms are equal on both sides.
Step 1:
Write down the unbalanced equation.
FeS + O2 → Fe2O3 + SO2
Step 2:
Balance the Fe atoms.
Since there are 2 Fe atoms in Fe2O3, we need 2 FeS molecules:
2FeS + O2 → Fe2O3 + SO2
Step 3:
Balance the S and O atoms.
To balance the S atoms, we need 1 SO2 molecule for each FeS. For the O atoms, we have 3 O in Fe2O3 and 2 O in SO2, requiring more O2. The balanced oxygen requires 3.5 O2 molecules, but since we cannot have a fraction as a coefficient, we double all coefficients to get whole numbers:
4FeS + 7O2 → 2Fe2O3 + 4SO2
Final Balanced Equation:
The correct order of coefficients when the reaction FeS + O2 → Fe2O3 + SO2 is balanced is 4FeS + 7O2 → 2Fe2O3 + 4SO2.
This now gives us 4 Fe atoms and 4 S atoms on the reactants side and 4 Fe atoms and 4 S atoms on the products side, with 14 O atoms on both sides as well, showing that the equation is balanced.