How do I balance equations?
Balancing equations will become natural if you do it long enough but takes a bit of practice and can be tedious! It can be a bit of trial and error at times. It is important to remember that numbers of elements on each side will change and not to worry about it. You will see in the example that it is easy to fix Mg and (PO4) but by fixing (PO4), we change the number of H and that needs to be fixed after.Mg(s) + H3PO4(aq)>>>>>>>>> Mg3(PO4)2(aq) + H2(g)Consider this unbalanced equation. We have 3 different parts. They are Mg, H and PO4. The reason we keep PO4 as only one component rather than P and O (2 components) is because they are a special combined ion.On the left side, we have 1Mg, 3H and 1(PO4). On the right side, we have 3Mg, 2H and 2 (PO4). First, correct Mg on the left side by multiplying by 3. Now we have 3Mg on each side. Now correct the (PO4) on the left side by multiplying it by 2. Remember that we NEVER change the formula so if we multiply (PO4) by 2, we have to multiply the H3 by 2. Now, we have 6H on the left and only 2 on the right. We can correct this by multiplying the H2 on the right by 3. Now we have 6H on both sides and our equation is completely balanced.3Mg(s) + 2H3PO4(aq)>>>>>>>>> Mg3(PO4)2(aq) + 3H2(g)
