How to balance equations

Write out all the atoms that are in the equation, underneath. Then always balance the carbons first, leave the others for later. Then do the hydrogens and then the oxygens. This method is for simple equations, for harder equations we can do it algebraically, which I can demonstrate on a whiteboard. Essentially, a/b/c etc will be the numbers in front of the compound and you make the atoms into an algebraic equation and then solve.