Home > Student Resources > Balancing Equation

Balancing Equation

Hexane combusts in excess air to form carbon dioxide and water. What is the balanced chemical formula for this reaction?

$Hexane\rightarrow C_{6}H_{14}$
$Air\ (Oxygen)\rightarrow O_{2}$ *diatomic gas
$Carbon\ Dioxide\rightarrow CO_{2}$
$Water\rightarrow H_{2}O$

____ $C_{6}H_{14}+$ ____ $O_{2}\rightarrow$ ____ $CO_{2}+$ ____ $H_{2}O$

$C-6$ $C-1$

$H-14$ $H-2$

$O-2$ $O-3$

$C-6:1,\ H-14:2,\ O-2:3$

Carbon is the easiest to balance because it’s in on each side:

$1\ hexane\rightarrow 6CO_{2}$

$Check:\ 1C_{6}H_14}+$ ____ $0_{2}\rightarrow 6CO{2}+7H_{2}O$

$C-6$

$H-14$

$O-$ ____ *cannot have $\frac{1}{2} O_{2}$ → double everything

Hydrogen is easy to balance because it’s in 1 molecule on each side.

$1\ hexane\rightarrow 7H_{2}O$

$Check:\ 2C_{6}H_{14}+18O_{2}\rightarrow 12CO_{2}+14H_{2}o$

$C-12$

$H-28$

$O-36$

$2C_{6}H_{14}+18O_{2}\rightarrow 12CO_{2}+14H_{2}O$