To write the skeletal equation, begin by writing the chemical formula for each reactant and product.
Reactants:
1. Ammonia's chemical formula is given as NH3.
2. Gaseous oxygen exists as a diatomic molecule with the chemical formula O2.
Products:
1. Nitrogen monoxide has the chemical formula of NO.
2. The chemical formula for water is H2O.
Therefore, the skeletal equation is written as:
NH3(g)+O2(g)→NO(g)+H2O(g)
Now count the number of each atom on each side of the equation to determine if the equation is balanced.
Reactants
1N atom
3H atoms
2O atoms
Products
1N atom
2H atoms
2O atoms
Begin by balancing the number of hydrogen atoms by adding a coefficient of 2 to NH3 and a coefficient of 3 to H2O. Next, balance the number of nitrogen atoms by adding a coefficient of 2 to NO. Now there are two oxygen atoms on the reactant's side and five oxygen atoms on the product's side of the reaction. Since only whole number coefficients should be used, all coefficients need to be increased by a factor of two to balance the oxygen atoms. Thus the coefficient for NH3 is 4, the coefficient for H2O is 6, and the coefficient for NO is 4. Finally, balance the oxygen atoms by adding a coefficient of 5 to O2. The balanced equation is:
4NH3(g)+5O2(g)→4NO(g)+6H2O(g)