The balanced equation for the reaction between silver nitrate (AgNO3) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) to produce silver carbonate (Ag2CO3) and sodium nitrate (NaNO3) is as follows:
Step 1: Count the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation.
Ag: 2 on the product side, 1 on the reactant side
N: 1 on both sides
O: 6 on the reactant side, 6 on the product side
Na: 2 on the reactant side, 1 on the product side
C: 1 on the reactant side, 1 on the product side
Step 2: Start balancing the equation by adjusting the coefficients in front of the compounds to equalize the number of atoms for each element.
Begin with elements that appear in the fewest compounds first, which in this case are Ag and C.
Place a coefficient of 2 in front of AgNO3 and Ag2CO3 to balance the silver atoms.
Now we have 2 Ag atoms on both sides and need to balance C.
Place a coefficient of 1 in front of Na2CO3 and NaNO3 to balance the sodium atoms.
The equation now looks like this:
2 AgNO3 + Na2CO3 → Ag2CO3 + 2 NaNO3
Step 3: Check if the number of atoms for each element is balanced.
Ag: 2 on both sides
N: 2 on both sides
O: 9 on both sides
Na: 2 on both sides
C: 1 on both sides
Therefore, the balanced equation for this reaction is
B. 2 AgNO3 + Na2CO3 → Ag2CO3 + 2 NaNO3