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Balancing Charges
Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:10 pm
by Max Harouni 14B 24W
Hello everyone,
when balancing chemical equations, does anyone know if ionic charges play a part? Or in other words, do we only balance the coefficients? Also, would we have to know the charges, or would they be provided?
Re: Balancing Charges
Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:30 pm
by Ruby Sanchez 1K
I think it depends whether the question asks you to balance the equation by mass or by charge. In this case, I believe the charges would be provided. For example, in Copper, Cu2+
Re: Balancing Charges
Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2023 2:18 pm
by sadie_remillard_1A
Hi Max,
As far as I know, when balancing chemical equations, the total positive charge and total negative charge must balance one another out. If they do not balance one another out with just 1:1 ratio, then we have to have more than one cation/anion to balance the overall positive and negative charges. As for having to know the charges of elements, I am not sure what we are expected to know though a good thing to remember that group 1 on the periodic table all have 1+ charges and group 2 all have 2+ charges.