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Chemical Equations Answer Key

Vocabulary: Avogadro’s number, chemical equation, chemical formula, chemical reaction,

coefficient, combination, combustion, conservation of matter, decomposition, double
replacement, molar mass, mole, molecular mass, molecule, product, reactant, single
replacement, subscript

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

[Note: The purpose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking.
Students are not expected to know the answers to the Prior Knowledge Questions.]

1. A candle is placed on one pan of a balance, and an equal weight is placed on the other pan.

What would happen if you lit up the candle and waited for a while?

Answers will vary. [The pan with the candle will rise as the candle loses mass.]

2. Suppose the candle was placed in a large, sealed jar that allowed it to burn for several
minutes before running out of oxygen. The candle and jar are balanced by an equal weight.

In this situation, what would happen if you lit up the candle and waited?

Answers will vary. [The two pans should remain in balance as the candle burns.]

Gizmo Warm-up
Burning is an example of a chemical reaction. The law of conservation of matter states that
no atoms are created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. Therefore, a balanced chemical
equation will show the same number of each type of atom on each side of the equation.

To set up an equation in the Chemical Equations Gizmo, type the chemical formulas into the
text boxes of the Gizmo. First, type in “H2+O2” in the Reactants box and “H2O” in the
Products box. This represents the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen gas to form water.

1. Check that the Visual display is chosen on each side of the Gizmo, and count the atoms.

A. How many hydrogen atoms are on the Reactants side? 2 Products side? 2

B. How many oxygen atoms are on the Reactants side? 2 Products side? 1

2. Based on what you see, is this equation currently balanced? No

2018
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Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:

Interpreting  Erase the chemical formulas in each text box.
chemical formulas  Check that the Visual displays are selected.

Introduction: To balance a chemical equation, you first need to be able to count how many
atoms of each element are on each side of the equation. In this activity, you will practice
counting the atoms that are represented in chemical formulas.

Question: How do we read chemical formulas?

1. Observe: Type “H2” into the Reactants box and hit Enter on your keyboard. Note that the
formula is shown as H2 below. The small “2” in H2 is a subscript.

A. What does the “2” in H2 represent? The number of hydrogen atoms

B. In general, what do you think a subscript in a chemical formula tells you?

The subscripts indicate the number of atoms in one molecule of a substance.

C. Try typing in other subscripts next to the H, such as 3, 4, and 5. Is your answer to

question B still true? Explain. Yes, H3 is 3 hydrogen atoms, and so forth.

2. Count: Clear the Reactants box, and type in a more complex chemical formula: “Ca(OH)2.”
Look at the number of atoms shown.

A. How many of each type of atom do you see? Ca: 1 O: 2 H: 2

B. In general, what happens when a subscript is found outside of parentheses?

The subscript multiplies all of the atoms within the parentheses.

C. Try typing in other subscripts next to the (OH), such as 3, 4, and 5. Is your answer to

question B still true? Explain. Yes, Ca(OH)3 has 1 Ca, 3 O, and 3 H atoms.

3. Practice: For each of the real chemical formulas below, calculate how many of each element
there are. Check your answers for the first three formulas using the Gizmo.

AgCl3Cu2 Ag: 1 Cl: 3 Cu: 2

Ba(AsO4)2 Ba: 1 As: 2 O: 8

(NH4)3PO4 N: 3 H: 12 P: 1 O: 4

MnPb8(Si2O7)3 Mn: 1 Pb: 8 Si: 6 O: 21

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Activity B:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Balancing
 Erase the chemical formulas in each text box.
equations

Introduction: In a chemical reaction, the reactants are the substances that enter into the
reaction, and the products are the substances that are made in the reaction. A chemical
reaction is balanced if the numbers of reactant atoms match the numbers of product atoms.

Goal: Learn to balance any chemical equation.

1. Observe: To model how hydrogen and oxygen react to make water, type “H2+O2” into the
Reactants box and “H2O” into the Products box.

As the equation is written, which element is not in balance? Oxygen

Explain: There are two oxygen atoms on the left and one on the right side of the equation.

2. Balance: To balance a chemical equation, you are not allowed to change the chemical
formulas of the substances involved in the reaction. You are allowed to change the number
of molecules of each substance by adding coefficients in front of the formulas.

A. To balance the oxygen atoms, add a “2” in front of the “H2O” in the Products box.

How many oxygen atoms are found on each side of the equation now? Two

B. To balance the hydrogen atoms, add a “2” in front of the “H2” in the Reactants box.

How many hydrogen atoms are found on each side of the equation now? Four

C. Is this equation currently balanced? Yes Click Show if balanced to check.

3. Apply: Now enter a more complex chemical reaction: Ca(OH)2 + HBr  CaBr2 + H2O. List
the numbers of each element in the tables below:
Reactants Products
Ca O H Br Ca O H Br
1 2 3 1 1 1 2 2

A. Which elements are out of balance? Oxygen (O), hydrogen (H) and bromine (Br)

B. Add coefficients to balance first the bromine (Br) and then the hydrogen (H) atoms.
When the equation is balanced, write the complete formula below:

Ca(OH)2 + 2HBr  CaBr2 + 2H2O

(Activity B continued on next page)

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Activity B (continued from previous page)

4. Practice: Chemical reactions are generally classified into five groups, defined below.
Balance each equation, using the Gizmo for help.

Combination (or synthesis) – two or more elements combine to form a compound.

 Na + O2  Na2O 4Na + O2  2Na2O

 La2O3 + H2O  La(OH)3 La2O3 + 3H2O  2La(OH)3

 N2O5 + H2O  HNO3 N2O5 + H2O  2HNO3

Decomposition – a compound breaks down into elements and/or simpler compounds.

 KNO3  KNO2 + O2 2KNO3  2KNO2 + O2

 NaN3  Na + N2 2NaN3  2Na + 3N2

 NH4NO3  N2O + H2O NH4NO3  N2O + 2H2O

Combustion – a fuel reacts with oxygen to release carbon dioxide, water, and heat.

 CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O

 C3H8 + O2  CO2 + H2O C3H8 + 5O2  3CO2 + 4H2O

 C6H12O6 + O2  CO2 + H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2  6CO2 + 6H2O

Single replacement – an element replaces another element in a compound.

 KCl + F2  KF + Cl2 2KCl + F2  2KF + Cl2

 Mg + HCl  MgCl2 + H2 Mg + 2HCl  MgCl2 + H2

 Cu + AgNO3  Cu(NO3)2 + Ag Cu + 2AgNO3  Cu(NO3)2 + 2Ag

Double replacement – two compounds switch parts with one another.

 AgNO3 + K2SO4  Ag2SO4 + KNO3 2AgNO3 + K2SO4  Ag2SO4 + 2KNO3

 Mg(OH)2 + HCl  MgCl2 + H2O Mg(OH)2 + 2HCl  MgCl2 + 2H2O

 Al(OH)3 + H2SO4  Al2(SO4)3 + H2O 2Al(OH)3 + 3H2SO4  Al2(SO4)3 + 6H2O

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Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity C:
 Erase the chemical formulas in each text box.
Molar mass
 In the middle menu, select Molar mass.

Introduction: Chemists are often interested in obtaining a certain mass of product from a
chemical reaction without wasting any reactants. But how is this done? To calculate the masses
of reactants needed for a desired mass of product, it is necessary to understand a unit of
quantity called the mole.

Question: How do chemists know how much of each substance to mix?

1. Observe: The mass of a molecule of a substance is its molecular mass (M). Molecular
mass is measured in universal mass units (u). One universal mass unit (1 u) is
approximately the mass of a proton. Hydrogen gas has a molecular mass of 2.0158 u.

A. Type the formula “H2” into the Reactants box. What is the molar mass of hydrogen

gas, H2? 2.0158 grams

B. What is the relationship between the molecular mass and the molar mass of a

substance? The molar mass (in grams) is the same value as the molecular mass.

A mole is defined as 6.0221415 × 1023 molecules (or atoms) of a substance. This value,
called Avogadro’s number, is special because a mole of a substance has a mass in grams
that is equal to the molecular mass of the substance. Moles are handy because a mole of
one substance contains the same number of particles as a mole of another substance.

2. Gather data: The balanced equation to synthesize water is: 2H2 + O2  2H2O. Use the
Gizmo to find the molar masses of each substance in this equation:

2H2 4.0316 g O2 31.9988 g 2H2O 36.0304 g

3. Analyze: Based on the molar masses, how can you tell that an equation is balanced?

The equation is balanced if the total mass of the reactants is the same as the total mass of
the products.

4. Apply: Suppose you had one mole of oxygen (O2). How many moles of hydrogen (H2) would
react completely with the oxygen, and how many moles of H2O would be produced?

Based on the balanced equation 2H2 + O2  2H2O, the mole of oxygen would react
completely with two moles of hydrogen, producing two moles of H2O.

(Activity C continued on next page)

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Activity C (continued from previous page)

5. Calculate: Suppose you had 2.0158 grams of hydrogen (H2).

A. How many moles of hydrogen do you have? One mole

B. How many moles of oxygen would react with this much hydrogen? One half mole

C. What mass of oxygen would you need for this reaction? 15.9994 g

D. How many grams of water would you produce? 18.0152 g

6. Challenge yourself: Suppose you wanted to make 100 grams of water.

A. What is the molar mass of water (H2O)? 18.0152 g

B. How many moles of water are in 100 grams? 5.5509 moles

C. How many moles of hydrogen will you need? 5.5509 moles

D. How many moles of oxygen will you need? 2.7754 moles

E. How many grams of hydrogen and oxygen will you need?

Hydrogen: 11.1895 g Oxygen: 88.8095 g

F. Is your answer reasonable? Why or why not?

Yes, my answer is reasonable because the total mass of hydrogen and oxygen is
close to 100 grams (11.1895 g + 88.8095 g = 99.9990 g).

7. Summarize: Why is it useful to use moles to measure chemical quantities?

Sample answer: When you are balancing chemical equations, it is important to know how
many atoms and molecules are on each side of the equation. Because a mole always
contains the same number of particles, using moles allows you to know how many particles
of each chemical are taking part in the reaction.

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