•Write the symbol of the positive ion / radical to the left and the negative 3Ca+N2→Ca3N2 (Calcium nitride)

alcium nitride) • If oxygen atom is less than 2, prefix-’hypo’.

ion / radical to the right along with their valency number. Interchange the [Suffix ‘ide’ to non-metal] e.g., NaClO (sodium hypochlorite)
valency number of radicals and shift them to the lower side. • If oxygen atom is 2, suffix – ‘ite’.
• Write the valencies of the constituents below each and crossover the valencies PCl3(Phoshporus e.g., (NaClO2) (sodium chlorite)
of the combining atoms. trichloride) • If oxygen atom is 3 suffix – ‘ate’. • Monoatomic molecules : consists of one atom.
PCl5(Phoshporus e.g., NaClO3 (sodium chlorate) E.g., Noble gases
• It is the percentage by weight of each element in compound. • If oxygen atom is more than 3
pentachloride) • Diatomic molecules : consists of two atoms.
• Molar mass of X element in a compound suffix – ‘per’.
× 100 E.g., Η2, Ο2, Ν2, CO
Molar mass of compound e.g., NaClO4 (sodium perchlorate)
Two non-metals • Triatomic molecules : consists of three atoms.
• The ratio of the average mass of one molecule of an element [prefix tri/tetra] E.g., O3 (ozone), CO2
or compound to one-twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon–12. • Tetratomic molecules : consists of four atoms.
• Calculated as sum of atomic masses of constituent E.g., P4 (phosphorus), NH3
atoms present in one molecule of substance. • Poly atomic molecules : consists of
E.g., H2O = (2×1) + 16 = 18 a.m.u. four or more atoms.
E.g., S8 (sulphur) , CH4 (methane).
• The ratio of the average mass of one atom of an element • Smallest particle of matter which can
to one twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon–12. take part in any chemical reaction and
Mass of 1 atom of the element can exist freely in nature.
• Relative Atomic Mass = • eg : Η2, Ο2, Ν2
1
— th the mass of one C-12 atom
12
• Smallest particle of an element which can take
1. Count the no. of atoms of each element occurring on either side part in chemical reaction but do not have
e.g., Cu+H2SO4→CuSO4+SO2+H2O independent existence.
• eg : H+H → Η2
Element Reactant Product H atoms
Cu 1 1 The Language
H 2 2 • Simplest and purest form of substance which can be decomposed
S 1 2
of into simpler substance by any physical or chemical means.
Chemistry • eg, Na, K, Sn
O 4 7
2. Elements with least number of atoms is balanced first. Chemical Equation
Balance by adjusting the coefficient. Symbolic representation Valency: Measure
e.g., Cu+2H2SO4→CuSO4+SO2+H2O of a chemical reaction of combining • Denotes specific short name for each element.
using symbols and formula capacity of an
3. Metallic elements is balanced first and elements. • Represent one atom of the element.
equalize the equation. involved in a reaction. • Signifies a definite mass of the element.
e.g., Cu+2H2SO4→CuSO4+SO2+2H2O
Ion formation : Name of the Symbol
Two reactants & three Positively or Element
Cu+2H2SO4→CuSO4+2H2O+SO2 or more products negatively charged 1. Gold Au
Two reactants & atom formed by
2. Silver Ag
AgNO3+NaCl→AgCl+NaNO3 two products • Elements exhibit more gain or loss
than one valency. of electron. 3. Tin Sn
Two reactants & one • Loss of electrons from 4. Iron Fe
NH3+HCl→NH4Cl products penultimate shell. 5. Lead Pb

Naming Convention • Positively charged ions.

CaCO3→CaO+CO2 One reactant &
• Examples : Na+, K+, Pb2+
two or more products
• Negatively charged ions.
• Single atom. • Group of atoms. • Suffix ‘ous’ for • Suffix ‘ic’ for
• Examples : Cl–, Br –, I – , SO4 2 –
• e.g., Na+ , K+ • e.g., SO2– 3– lower valency. higher valency.
4 , PO4 • Ferrous - Fe2+ • Ferric - Fe3+
 • It is a reaction that occurs with absorption of light energy.
sunlight • It is a reaction that occurs with absorption of electrical energy.
• Example : 2AgNO3 → 2Ag + 2NO2 + O2
electric
• Example : KCl –––––––– K+ + Cl –
current
• A permanent change.
•A chemical reaction • Chemical composition of substance is changed.
in which heat is • New substance with different chemical composition are formed.
absorbed.
•Example : The process of breaking the chemical
∆ bonds of the reacting substances and
C+2S → CS2
heat making new bonds to form products.
CaCO3 (s) → CaO(s) + CO2 (g)
(1000°C)
The attractive force that binds/ holds the atoms of a
molecule together as in a compound.
Every substance has fixed
amount of energy stored
in it in the form of
eg: Zn + H2SO4 → ZnSO4+H2↑
potential energy.
Chemical
•Chemical reaction in which heat Changes and
energy is released. Reactions eg: Cu(s) + 2H2SO4 (aq) →
•Example : CuSO4 (aq) + 2H2O(l) +SO2 (g)
(Blue)
C+O2 → CO2 + heat
Respiration eg: AgNO3 (aq) + NaCl (aq) →
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + heat AgCl (ppt) + NaNO3 (aq)

eg: NH3 (g) + HCl (g) NH4Cl(s)

Precipitation Reaction
•Two elements combine
→ Two compounds in their
to form a compound.
• A compound breaks up to form two elements. aqueous state react to form
C + O2 → CO2 + heat ∆ 2Hg (l) + O (g) insoluble salt.
2HgO(s) →
•An element and a compound 2 eg: BaCl2 (aq) + Na2 SO4 (aq) →
combine to give a new compound. • A compound can break up to form both BaSO4 (s) + 2NaCl (aq)
white ppt
heat elements and compounds. • A chemical change in which
2CO(g) + O2(g) → 2 CO2(g)
∆ Neutralisation Reaction
•Two or more compounds combine 2KNO3 (s) → 2KNO2 (s) + O2(g) more active element displaces
An acid and base react to form water and salt.
a less active element from its
to form a single product. • A compound can break up to form eg: NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H2O
salt solution.
NH3 (g) + HCl (g) → NH4Cl(s) two or more new compound.
Heat CuSO4 + Zn → ZnSO4 + Cu↓
→ CaO(s) + CO2 (g)
CaCO3 (s) 1000°C
The Algebraic Balancing Method
This method of balancing chemical equations involves assigning algebraic variables as stoichiometric
coefficients to each species in the unbalanced chemical equation. These variables are used in
mathematical equations and are solved to obtain the values of each stoichiometric coefficient. In
order to better explain this method, the reaction between glucose and oxygen that yields carbon
dioxide and water has been considered as an example.

Step 1

 The unbalanced chemical equation must be obtained by writing the chemical formulae of the
reactants and the products.
 In this example, the reactants are glucose (C 6H12O6) and oxygen (O2) and the products are
carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O)
 The unbalanced chemical equation is C6H12O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Step 2
Now, algebraic variables are assigned to each species (as stoichiometric coefficients) in the
unbalanced chemical equation. In this example, the equation can be written as follows.
aC6H12O6 + bO2 → cCO2 + dH2O
Now, a set of equations must be formulated (between the reactant and product side) in order to
balance each element in the reaction. In this example, the following equations can be formed.
The equation for Carbon

 On the reactant side, ‘a’ molecules of C 6H12O6 will contain ‘6a’ carbon atoms.
 On the product side, ‘c’ molecules of CO2 will contain ‘c’ carbon atoms.
 In this equation, the only species containing carbon are C 6H12O6 and CO2.
Therefore, the following equation can be formulated for carbon: 6a = c
The equation for Hydrogen

 The species that contain hydrogen in this equation are C 6H12O6 and H2
 ‘a’ molecules of C 6H12O6 contains ‘12a’ hydrogen atoms whereas ‘d’ H2O molecules will
contain ‘2d’ hydrogen atoms.
 Therefore, the equation for hydrogen becomes 12a = 2d.
Simplifying this equation (by dividing both sides by 2), the equation becomes: 6a = d
The equation for Oxygen
Every species in this chemical equation contains oxygen. Therefore, the following relations can be
made to obtain the equation for oxygen:

 For ‘a’ molecules of C 6H12O6, there exist ‘6a’ oxygen atoms.

 ‘b’ molecules of O2 contain a total of ‘2b’ oxygens.
 ‘c’ molecules of CO2 contain ‘2c’ number of oxygen atoms.
 ‘d’ molecules of H2O hold ‘d’ oxygen atoms.
 Therefore, the equation for oxygen can be written as: 6a + 2b = 2c+ d

Step 3
The equations for each element are listed together to form a system of equations. In this example, the
system of equations is as follows:
6a = c (for carbon); 6a = d (for hydrogen); 6a + 2b = 2c + d (for oxygen)
This system of equations can have multiple solutions, but the solution with minimal values of the
variables is required. To obtain this solution, a value is assigned to one of the coefficients. In this
case, the value of a is assumed to be 1. Therefore, the system of equations is transformed as follows:
a=1
c = 6a = 6x1 = 6
d = 6a = 6
Substituting the values of a,c, and d in the equation 6a + 2b = 2c + d, the value of ‘b’ can be obtained
as follows:
6x1 + 2b = 2x6 + 6
2b = 12; b = 6
It is important to note that these equations must be solved in a manner that each variable is a positive
integer. If fractional values are obtained, the lowest common denominator between all the variables
must be multiplied with each variable. This is necessary because the variables hold the values of the
stoichiometric coefficients, which must be a positive integer.

Step 4
 Now that the smallest value of each variable is obtained, their values can be substituted into
the chemical equation obtained in step 2.
 Therefore, aC 6H12O6 + bO2 → cCO2 + dH 2O becomes: C6H 12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H 2O
 Thus, the balanced chemical equation is obtained.
The algebraic method of balancing chemical equations is considered to be more efficient than the
traditional method. However, it can yield fractional values for the stoichiometric coefficients, which
must then be converted into integers.

Solved Examples
Some examples describing the balancing of chemical equations are provided in this subsection.
These equations have been balanced using both the methods described above.

Example 1
Unbalanced chemical equation: Al + O2 → Al2O3
Traditional Method
Following the traditional method, the reaction can be balanced as follows:
Equation: Al + O2 → Al2O3

Reactant Side Product Side

1 Aluminium atom 2 Aluminium Atoms

2 Oxygen atoms 3 Oxygen atoms

First, the aluminium atoms are balanced. The equation becomes 2Al + O2 → Al2O3
Now, the oxygen atoms must be balanced, there are two oxygen atoms on the reactant side and 3 on
the product side. Therefore, there must be 3 O2 molecules that yield 2 Al2O3 atoms. The chemical
equation is transformed into 2Al + 3O2 → 2Al2O3
Since the number of aluminium atoms on the product side has doubled, so must the number on the
reactant side.

Equation: 4Al + 3O2 → 2Al2O3

Reactant Side Product Side

4 Aluminium Atoms 4 Aluminium Atoms

6 Oxygen Atoms 6 Oxygen Atoms

Since each element is balanced, the balanced chemical equation is found to be 4Al + 3O2 → 2Al2O3
Algebraic Method
Using the algebraic method of balancing chemical equations, the following variables can be
assigned to the unbalanced equation.
aAl + bO2 → cAl2O3
The equation for Aluminum: a = 2c
The equation for Oxygen: 2b = 3c
Assuming a = 1, we get:

c= ;c=

2b = 3x( ) = ; b =

Since fractional values of b and c are obtained, the lowest common denominator between the
variables a, b, and c must be found and multiplied with each variable. Since the lowest common
denominator is 4, each of the variables must be multiplied by 4.

Therefore, a = 4x1 = 4 ; b = x4=3;c= x4=2

Substituting the values of a, b, and c in the unbalanced equation, the following balanced chemical
equation is obtained.
4Al + 3O2 → 2Al2O3

Example 2
Unbalanced chemical equation: N2 + H2 → NH3
Traditional Method
In this reaction, the nitrogen atoms are balanced first. The reactant side has two nitrogen atoms,
implying that 2 molecules of NH3 must be formed for each N2 molecule.

Chemical Equation: N2 + H2 → 2NH3

Reactant Side Product Side

2 nitrogen atoms 2 nitrogen atoms

2 hydrogen atoms 6 hydrogen atoms

Each H2 molecule contains 2 hydrogen atoms. In order to balance the number of hydrogen atoms in
the equation, the total number of hydrogen atoms must be equal to 6. Therefore, the stoichiometric
coefficient that must be assigned to hydrogen is 3.

Chemical Equation: N2 + 3H2 → 2NH3

Reactant Side Product Side

2 nitrogen atoms 2 nitrogen atoms

6 hydrogen atoms 6 hydrogen atoms

Thus, the balanced chemical equation is N 2 + 3H 2 → 2NH 3

Algebraic Method

The variables a, b, and c must be assigned to N2, H2, and NH3 respectively. The chemical equation
can be written as:
aN2 + bH 2 → cNH3
The equation for nitrogen: 2a = c
The equation for hydrogen: 2b = 3c
Assuming a = 1, the values of b and c can be obtained as follows.
c = 2a = 2
 2b = 3c = 3 x 2 = 6; b = =3

Since a, b, and c have no common multiples, they can be substituted into the equation as follows.
N2 + 3H 2 → 2NH 3
This is the balanced form of the given chemical equation.

Exercises
In order to practice different methods of balancing chemical equations, the following unbalanced
equations can be worked on.

1. FeCl3 + NaOH → NaCl + Fe(OH)3

2. Zn + HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
3. P2O5 + H2O → H3PO4
4. FeSO4 + NaOH → Na2SO4 + Fe(OH)2
5. Mg + HCl → MgCl2 + H2

Note: Balance the above chemical equation using traditional and algebraic sum method and write in your
chemistry fair copy

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