Question

write a balanced chemical equation based on the following description: solid cesium reacts with solid cesium nitrite to produce solid cesium oxide and nitrogen gas. cs(s) + csno₂(s)→

Explanation:

Step1: Write the unbalanced equation

Cesium (\(Cs\)), cesium nitrite (\(CsNO_{2}\)) are reactants. Cesium oxide (\(Cs_{2}O\)) and nitrogen gas (\(N_{2}\)) are products.
\(Cs(s)+CsNO_{2}(s)
ightarrow Cs_{2}O(s)+N_{2}(g)\)

Step2: Balance nitrogen atoms

There are \(2\) nitrogen atoms in \(N_{2}\) and \(1\) nitrogen atom in \(CsNO_{2}\). Multiply \(CsNO_{2}\) by \(2\).
\(Cs(s)+2CsNO_{2}(s)
ightarrow Cs_{2}O(s)+N_{2}(g)\)

Step3: Balance cesium and oxygen atoms

Now, for cesium: on the left - hand side, we have \(1 + 2=3\) \(Cs\) atoms from \(Cs\) and \(2CsNO_{2}\). On the right - hand side, we have \(2\) \(Cs\) atoms in \(Cs_{2}O\). Multiply \(Cs\) by \(10\) and \(Cs_{2}O\) by \(6\)
\(10Cs(s)+2CsNO_{2}(s)
ightarrow 6Cs_{2}O(s)+N_{2}(g)\)
Check oxygen: In \(2CsNO_{2}\), there are \(2\times2 = 4\) oxygen atoms. In \(6Cs_{2}O\), there are \(6\) oxygen atoms. Multiply \(2CsNO_{2}\) by \(5\) and \(6Cs_{2}O\) by \(5\)
\(10Cs(s)+5CsNO_{2}(s)
ightarrow 5Cs_{2}O(s)+ \frac{5}{2}N_{2}(g)\)
Multiply the entire equation by \(2\) to get rid of the fraction.

Answer:

\(10Cs(s)+2CsNO_{2}(s)=6Cs_{2}O(s)+N_{2}(g)\)