1. Balancing Chemical Equations

2. The term balanced in chemical equations means “equal on both sides”.
If one side contains more of something than the other, the equation is not balanced.

3. To balance a chemical equation, the same number of atoms of each substance must be present on both sides of the equation.
There are two numbers that we use to balance equations: coefficients and subscripts.

4. Coefficients are the numbers that come before the letters that stand for the elements and molecules. This number is multiplied throughout the entire formula.
Subscripts are the smaller numbers written to the lower right of the chemical symbols.
N2 + 3H NH3

5. To balance a chemical equation, you can only add coefficients
To balance a chemical equation, you can only add coefficients. They can only be added at the beginning of the equation, after a plus sign and after the yields sign. They are not to be added between two elements.
You cannot add subscripts.