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

1 Answer
Meave60
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.

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