1. Balancing Equations If you can count, then you can balance equations.

2. ex. Na + Cl 2 NaCl ___1__ Na ___1__ __2___ Cl ___1__ First, you need to count how many of each element are located on each side of the equation. You can see that the number of chlorine is not equal on both sides. This breaks the Law of Conservation of Mass, so we need to balance the equation to fix the problem.

3. It is just like a recipe…..How much of each are needed to make it work? Na + Cl 2 2 NaCl ___1__ Na ___1__2 __2___ Cl ___1__2 By putting a 2 (coefficient) in front of NaCl, it fixes the chlorine problem. But, now the number of sodium is messed up and must be fixed.

4. Now, to fix the sodium, you need to add a coefficient of 2 in front of the sodium on the left. 2Na + Cl 2 2 NaCl 2___1__ Na ___1__2 __2___ Cl ___1__2 Congratulations!………..You have balanced an equation. Let’s see if you can do one on your own.

5. Independent Practice a.CaCl 2 + Na 3 P Ca 3 P 2 + NaCl b.C 3 H 4 + O 2 CO 2 + H 2 O

6. ANSWERS A.3, 2, 1, 6 B.1, 4, 3, 2