To balance the chemical equation [tex]\( \text{Fe} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3 \)[/tex], we can follow these steps:
1. Write down the unbalanced equation:
[tex]\[
\text{Fe} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3
\][/tex]
2. Balance the iron (Fe) atoms:
- On the right side, there are 2 Fe atoms in [tex]\(\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3\)[/tex].
- Therefore, we need 2 Fe atoms on the left side.
[tex]\[
2\text{Fe} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3
\][/tex]
3. Balance the oxygen (O) atoms:
- On the right side in [tex]\(\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3\)[/tex], there are 3 oxygen atoms.
- On the left side, [tex]\(\text{O}_2\)[/tex] means there are 2 oxygen atoms per molecule, so we need 1.5 [tex]\(\text{O}_2\)[/tex] molecules to balance the 3 oxygen atoms on the right side.
[tex]\[
2\text{Fe} + 1.5 \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3
\][/tex]
4. Eliminate the fractional coefficient:
- To avoid fractional coefficients, multiply all coefficients by 2 to get whole numbers.
[tex]\[
4\text{Fe} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3
\][/tex]
5. Write the balanced chemical equation:
[tex]\[
4\text{Fe} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3
\][/tex]
Thus, the balanced equation is [tex]\( 4\text{Fe} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3 \)[/tex].
