Question

write the final coefficients below.

__ ch₄ + o₂ → co₂ + __ h₂o

Explanation:

Step1: Balance carbon atoms

There is 1 carbon atom in \(CH_4\) and 1 carbon atom in \(CO_2\). So, the coefficient of \(CH_4\) and \(CO_2\) can be 1 for now.

Step2: Balance hydrogen atoms

There are 4 hydrogen atoms in \(CH_4\) and 2 hydrogen atoms in \(H_2O\). To balance hydrogen, we put a 2 in front of \(H_2O\).

Step3: Balance oxygen atoms

After balancing carbon and hydrogen, we have 2 oxygen atoms from \(CO_2\) (1 molecule of \(CO_2\) has 2 oxygen atoms) and 2 oxygen atoms from \(2H_2O\) (2 molecules of \(H_2O\) have \(2\times1 = 2\) oxygen atoms). So in total, we have \(2 + 2=4\) oxygen atoms on the product side. Since \(O_2\) has 2 oxygen atoms per molecule, we put a 2 in front of \(O_2\).

Answer:

1 \(CH_4\) + 2 \(O_2\) → 1 \(CO_2\) + 2 \(H_2O\)