Question

Balance the following chemical equation. C4H8S2 + O2 ---> CO2 + H2O + Br2

Answer 1

To balance a chemical equation, count the atoms of each element on both sides, balance elements one by one, and ensure you have whole number coefficients. There's a typo in the question, so the balancing process ignores Br2. For C4H8S2 combustion, the coefficients need to match the number of C, H, and O atoms, similar to balancing the combustion of octane (C8H18).

Step-by-step explanation:

To balance the given chemical equation, you need to ensure that you have an equal number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. It appears there may be a typo in your equation, as Br2 is listed but not present on the reactant side. Assuming this is an error, let's focus on balancing the rest of the equation with the provided reactants and products.

Let's first correct the chemical equation: C4H8S2 + O2 --> CO2 + H2O. Now, let's balance it step by step:

1. Count the number of C, H, S, and O atoms in the reactants and products.
2. Start by balancing the elements that appear in the least number of compounds. Often, this is C or H in organic compounds.
3. Balance the oxygen atoms last since O2 can be adjusted with fractional coefficients if necessary.
4. Make sure the coefficients are whole numbers at the end by multiplying through by the lowest common multiple if you ended up with fractions.

Here's an example of balancing a similar equation using octane (C8H18) as a reference:

C8H18 + O2 -> CO2 + H2O (Unbalanced)

2 C8H18 + 25 O2 -> 16 CO2 + 18 H2O (Balanced)

The balanced chemical equation has 16 carbon atoms, 36 hydrogen atoms, and 50 oxygen atoms on each side. Remember, balancing equations requires practice and sometimes needs reevaluation of the reactant and product formulas.