Final answer:
The balanced equation for the reaction between barium chloride and silver nitrate to form barium nitrate and silver chloride is 1 BaCl₂ (aq) + 2 AgNO₃ (aq) → 2 AgCl (s) + 1 Ba(NO₃)₂ (aq), showing the reaction follows the law of conservation of mass.
Step-by-step explanation:
When barium chloride reacts with silver nitrate, the coefficients for the balanced equation are as follows:
1 BaCl₂ (aq) + 2 AgNO₃ (aq) → 2 AgCl (s) + 1 Ba(NO₃)₂ (aq)
This balanced equation demonstrates the law of conservation of mass, where the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the chemical equation.
To determine the correct coefficients, we observe that each compound must have the same number of each type of ion on both sides of the equation.
In this case, to balance the chlorine atoms, we need two silver ions, which means two molecules of silver nitrate reacting with one molecule of barium chloride to produce two molecules of silver chloride and one molecule of barium nitrate.