What is a balanced chemical equation ? Why should chemical equations be balanced?

  1. A chemical equation in which the number of atoms of different elements on the reactants side (left side) are same as those on product side (right side) is called a balanced chemical equation.

  1. All the chemical equations must balance, because atoms are neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions.
  2. The number of atoms of each element before and after reaction must be the same.
  3. According to the law of conservation of mass, the total mass of the substances that are taking part in a chemical reaction must be the same before and after the reaction.