Sure, let's look at the given chemical reaction and balance it step by step. The chemical equation we have is:
[tex]\[ \text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \ \longrightarrow \ \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_4 + \text{HCl} \][/tex]
The goal is to ensure that there are equal numbers of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. Let's break it down step by step:
1. List the number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation:
- Reactants side (left):
- Na: 1
- Cl: 1
- H: 2
- S: 1
- O: 4
- Products side (right):
- Na: 2
- Cl: 1
- H: 1
- S: 1
- O: 4
2. Balance the sodium (Na) atoms:
- On the reactants side, we have 1 Na atom.
- On the products side, we have 2 Na atoms.
- Therefore, we need to multiply NaCl by 2 to balance the sodium atoms:
[tex]\[ 2\text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \ \longrightarrow \ \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_4 + \text{HCl} \][/tex]
3. Update the count of each type of atom after adding the coefficients:
- Reactants side (left):
- Na: 2
- Cl: 2
- H: 2
- S: 1
- O: 4
- Products side (right):
- Na: 2
- Cl: 1
- H: 1
- S: 1
- O: 4
4. Balance the chlorine (Cl) atoms:
- On the reactants side, we now have 2 Cl atoms.
- On the products side, we have 1 Cl atom.
- Therefore, we need to multiply HCl by 2 to balance the chlorine atoms:
[tex]\[ 2\text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \ \longrightarrow \ \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_4 + 2\text{HCl} \][/tex]
5. Update the count of each type of atom after adding the coefficients:
- Reactants side (left):
- Na: 2
- Cl: 2
- H: 2
- S: 1
- O: 4
- Products side (right):
- Na: 2
- Cl: 2
- H: 2
- S: 1
- O: 4
6. Verify that all atoms are balanced:
- Sodium (Na): 2 atoms on both sides.
- Chlorine (Cl): 2 atoms on both sides.
- Hydrogen (H): 2 atoms on both sides.
- Sulfur (S): 1 atom on both sides.
- Oxygen (O): 4 atoms on both sides.
Since all the atoms are balanced, the balanced chemical equation is:
[tex]\[ 2\text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \ \longrightarrow \ \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_4 + 2\text{HCl} \][/tex]
So, the balanced chemical equation for this reaction is [tex]\( 2\text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_4 + 2\text{HCl} \)[/tex].
