Answer :

Answer:

2 Al + 3 CuSO4 - 1 Al2(SO4)3 + 3 Cu

Explanation:

Balancing Chemical Equations

What I like to do to balance a chemical equation is to make a table containing all the elements and the numbers of each atom in the reactant and product side.

Rea  Elem  Prod

   [tex]\begin{array}{ccc}1&Cu&1\\1&S&3\\1&Al&2\\4&O&12\\\end{array}[/tex]

Now you simply multiply each side by the number that will equalize each other. So the goal is reactant = products. But be careful that since some of the substances are molecules, multiplying one atom may change the content of the others, like oxygen multplying by 3 to make 12 will change the content of S and Cu because of the CuSO4 molecule.

   Rea        Elem  Prod

[tex]\begin{array}{ccc}1- > 3&Cu&1*3=3\\1 - > 3&S&3\\1*2 = 2&Al&2\\4*3=12&O&12\\\end{array}[/tex]

Now here if you multiply O by 3, you get 12 just like the product, but since on the reactant side you have CuSO4, the Sulfur atom will be multiplied by 3 too. Same thing for Cu. But now since the reactant Cu has turned into 3, you multiply the product Cu by 3 since 1*3 = 3. Essentially whatever number you multiply the atom with will become your coefficient.

So multplying on the reactant side the O by 3 which contains Cu and S will result in the coefficient being 3. Multiplying the the Al by 2 on the reactant side will result in the coefficient being 2. Multiplying the Cu on the product side by 3 will result in the coefficient being 3. The rest is 1.

So the balanced equation will be

2 Al + 3 CuSO4 - 1 Al2(SO4)3 + 3 Cu