Question #f9eac
1 Answer
Rather vague question because each person learns a different way.
Balancing Equations just means that atoms will not go poof and disappear into mid-air and will not suddenly appear. A fancy name for this is the Law of Conservation of Mass (and energy) (assuming no nuclei are broken)
This means that whatever number atoms you have on one side of the equation you should also have on the other side. To balance an equation, you would have to find coefficients (numbers) of each reactant or product so that nothing is unaccounted for (or suddenly appears or disappears).
In other words, for each element, if you add together all of the coefficients multiplied by their own subscripts (or 1 if there is no subscript), this value should be equal on both side of the reaction.
Once you understand the concept, you should practice balancing equations and finding coefficients. It takes practice to get the feeling for it and balance reactions quickly.
