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Chemistry - Balancing Equations (AQA)
The main gas used in a stink bomb is hydrogen sulphide.

Chemistry - Balancing Equations (AQA)

An understanding of the fundamental ideas in Chemistry is vital for students of GCSE Science. This is the last of six quizzes which recap these ideas and it focusses on chemical formulae and reactions, and on balancing chemical equations.

Symbol equations are often the things that put people off chemistry, but if you know a few simple rules you find that they make life so much easier. They are just a shorthand way of putting a huge amount of information about a chemical reaction down on paper. Once you know how the code works, it isn't that difficult. It can be fiddly at times but even for the most complicated reactions, persistence pays off.

1 .
How many atoms of hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen are there in sulfuric acid, formula H2SO4?
1, 1, 1
2, 2, 4
1, 1, 3
2,1,4
A small number after the symbol for an atom in the formula tells you how many of that atom are present. Seeing the symbol just on its own means that you only have one of that sort of atom
2 .
What non-metals are found in sodium silicate?
Sodium and silicon
Silicon and oxygen
Sulfur and hydrogen
Silicon and carbon
The name of a chemical will often indicate what elements are present. Sodium is a metal so, for this question, can be ignored. The non-metal part is the 'silicate'. The 'silic' indicates the element silicon and the 'ate' is a code that indicates that it is combined with oxygen. This rule works with most chemicals that you will meet at GCSE so something like phosphate indicates you have phosphorous combined with oxygen. Other useful parts of this chemical code are 'ite', which also indicates oxygen is in there, and 'ide' which indicates that the non-metal is there on its own
3 .
What do their names tell you about sodium sulfide and sodium sulfate?
Sodium sulfide is soluble in water, sodium sulfate is not
Sodium sulfate is highly flammable, sodium sulfide is not
Sodium sulfide is a solid, sodium sulfate is a gas
Sodium sulfate has oxygen atoms joined to the sulfur atoms but sodium sulfide hasn't
Chemical names do not tell you any of the physical or chemical properties of a compound so you can immediately dismiss the first 3 options
4 .
The main gas used in a stink bomb is the highly toxic hydrogen sulfide. What elements does this compound contain?
Only hydrogen and sulfur
Only hydrogen and sulfide
Hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur
Water and sulfur
Easy if you were paying attention to the useful comment of question 2! You should have been able to dismiss answers 2 and 4 because there is no such element as sulfide and water is a compound, not an element
5 .
How many atoms of oxygen in this thermal decomposition - CaCO3 ⇌ CaO +CO2
1 on the left, 2 on the right
1 on the left, 3 on the right
3 on the left, 3 on the right
3 on the left, 2 on the right
So the equation is balanced
6 .
You might find it easier to have a pen and paper handy for this and the rest of the questions. A student is balancing an equation that involves Na2SO4. She needs to have 6 atoms of sodium, how would she write this in her answer?
3Na2SO4
3(Na2SO4)
Na6SO4
None of the above
Writing a large number in front of a formula multiplies everything in the formula by that number. Na2 tells her that there were 2 sodium atoms there to begin with so multiplying the formula by 3 would give her the 6 she needed. That would also increase the number of sulfur and oxygen atoms
7 .
Bill needs to balance an equation that involves aluminium oxide, formula Al2O3. He requires a total of 12 oxygen atoms to balance his equation. What should he write?
12Al2O3
Al2O12
Al6O12
4Al2O3
OK, getting the gist of things now? You should have immediately dismissed answers 2 and 3 as they change the formula
8 .
Balance the equation Na + H2O → NaOH + H2.
2Na + 2H2O → 2NaOH + H2
Na + 2H2O → NaOH + H2
2Na + H2O → 2NaOH + H2
2Na + 2H2O → 2NaOH + 2H2
There are 2 Na atoms, 4 H atoms and 2 O atoms on each side of the equation. All the other answers have different numbers of the atoms on both sides of the equation
9 .
Balance the equation for the reaction CuO + Al → Cu + Al2O3
2CuO + Al → 2Cu + Al2O3
3CuO + 2Al → 3Cu + Al2O3
3CuO + 3Al → 3Cu + Al2O3
CuO3 + Al2 → Cu + Al2O3
We hope that you didn't choose the fourth one - remember, do not change formulae to balance equations. In the exam, any formulae you are given for balancing equations will be correct. If you alter them, they will then be wrong
10 .
In a blast furnace, there are several chemical reactions. The main one for smelting the iron from the iron ore is Fe2O3 + CO → Fe + CO2.
Which numbers should be put in front of each formula in order to balance the equation?
no number, 2, no number, 2
3, 3, 2, 3
2, 2, 3, no number
no number, 3,2,3
Remember, start off by counting individual atoms on each side then see what you need to get the same on both sides of the equation
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Calculations in chemistry - AQA

Author:  Kev Woodward

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