Balance the following chemical equation:
Zn + HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
The skeletal equation is
Zn + HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
Step 1: Count the number of times an element is occurring on both LHS and RHS in this equation.
| Component | Reactant | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Zinc | 1 | 1 |
| Chlorine | 1 | 2 |
| Hydrogen | 1 | 2 |
This is an unbalanced equation.
Step 2: Let’s balance the equation by multiplying HCl on the reactant side by 2.
The balanced equation is
Zn + 2HCl → ZnCl2+ H2
∴ Number of atoms of each element of reactants = Number of atoms of each element of products