How would you balance Na(s) + Cl2 → NaCl(s)?

1 Answer
Oct 18, 2015

The balanced equation is "2Na(s)"+"Cl"_2("g")"rarr"2NaCl(s)".

Explanation:

How to Balance the Equation "Na(s)"+"Cl"_2("g")"rarr"NaCl".

Since there are two chlorine atoms on the left side, there needs to be two chlorine atoms on the right side. So I put a coefficient of two in front of the formula "NaCl".

"Na(s)"+"Cl"_2("g")"rarr"2NaCl"

Now there are two sodium and two chlorine atoms on the right side. However, the left side has only one sodium atom. So I put a coefficient of two in front of the formula "Na".

"2Na(s)"+"Cl"_2("g")"rarr"2NaCl(s)"

Now there are two sodium and two chlorine atoms on both sides of the equation and it is balanced.

Notice that I only changed the amount of each substance by changing the coefficients. I did not change the formulas.