To balance the chemical reaction,
[tex]\[ \square \, \text{NaCl} + \square \, \text{AgNO}_3 \rightarrow \square \, \text{AgCl} + \square \, \text{NaNO}_3, \][/tex]
we need to ensure that there is an equal number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation.
Let's identify and count the atoms in the reactants and products separately:
Reactants:
- NaCl:
- [tex]\( \text{Na} \)[/tex]: 1 atom
- [tex]\( \text{Cl} \)[/tex]: 1 atom
- AgNO₃:
- [tex]\( \text{Ag} \)[/tex]: 1 atom
- [tex]\( \text{NO}_3 \)[/tex]: 1 group (NO₃ is treated as a single unit for simplification)
Products:
- AgCl:
- [tex]\( \text{Ag} \)[/tex]: 1 atom
- [tex]\( \text{Cl} \)[/tex]: 1 atom
- NaNO₃:
- [tex]\( \text{Na} \)[/tex]: 1 atom
- [tex]\( \text{NO}_3 \)[/tex]: 1 group
Now, let's balance each element one by one:
1. Sodium (Na) atoms:
- Reactants: 1 (from NaCl)
- Products: 1 (from NaNO₃)
- Both sides already have 1 Na atom. No adjustment needed.
2. Chlorine (Cl) atoms:
- Reactants: 1 (from NaCl)
- Products: 1 (from AgCl)
- Both sides already have 1 Cl atom. No adjustment needed.
3. Silver (Ag) atoms:
- Reactants: 1 (from AgNO₃)
- Products: 1 (from AgCl)
- Both sides already have 1 Ag atom. No adjustment needed.
4. Nitrate (NO₃) groups:
- Reactants: 1 (from AgNO₃)
- Products: 1 (from NaNO₃)
- Both sides already have 1 NO₃ group. No adjustment needed.
Since each type of atom already has equal counts on both sides, the reaction is balanced as written with all coefficients as 1. Therefore, the balanced chemical reaction is:
[tex]\[ 1 \, \text{NaCl} + 1 \, \text{AgNO}_3 \rightarrow 1 \, \text{AgCl} + 1 \, \text{NaNO}_3 \][/tex]
In summary, the coefficients are:
[tex]\[ \boxed{1} \, \text{NaCl} + \boxed{1} \, \text{AgNO}_3 \rightarrow \boxed{1} \, \text{AgCl} + \boxed{1} \, \text{NaNO}_3 \][/tex]
