2.1.2 (b) Construction of balanced chemical equatrions

If you can't balance a simple chemical equation yet then you seriously need to talk to your teacher for a quick lessons and some practice questions.

Seriously.

Reading about how to balance an equation is as unlikely to help as reading about how to tap dance.

It is very unlikely that you have got this far without learning the four state symbols (s) for a solid, (l) for a liquid, (g) for a gas and (aq) for an aqueous solution - dissolved in water.

The only mistake that students sometimes make is to write H₂O_(aq) - and while you could argue that water molecules are dissolved by other water molecules this will be marked incorrect.

Clearly it must be H₂O_(l).

It's not that unusual for students to be unfamiliar with the word coefficients when it crops up in a question.

It means the "big numbers" you add to make the equation balance

Now, go away and study something you weren't taught in Year 8 and 9.

Click here