Question

What are the coefficients when the equation below is balanced?___ Cu + ___ AgNO3 to ___ Ag + ___ Cu(NO3)21,3,4,11,2,3,41,2,2,11,1,1,1

Answer 1

Step 1 - Briefly remembering how to balance an equation

To balance a chemical equation, we must guarantee that the number of atoms of the same element is the same in both sides of the equation.

In order to do so, we need to adjust the coefficients, always remembering that the coefficients multiply the smaller numbers in the formula of each substance.

Step 2 - Balancing the given equation

The given equation is:

`Cu+AgNO_3\rightarrow Ag+Cu(NO_3)_2`

Note that there are two NO3 in the right hand side. So we need to multiply AgNO3 by 2 as well:

Now we also need to adjust Ag, by multiplying it by two, in order to have 2Ag in each side:

The equation is now properly balanced.

The coefficients are thus: 1,2,2,1