Problem H. 11

[ThomasLai1D]

Hi,

I am having difficulty balancing the equation Fe3O4 + CO ----> Fe + CO2 . No matter what I do, I cannot seem to balance both the Carbons or the Oxygens in the equation.

Thanks

[Andrew Sun 1I]

the coefficients are 0,4,3,4

[Albert Duong 4C]

A good tip is to write the coefficients on top of the molecules in the equation so it's easier to see how many of one element is on each side. If it doesn't balance yet, just cross off coefficients that are too small and write a larger coefficient in its place until both sides of the equation are balanced.

[Danielle_Gallandt3I]

A good way to balance equations is to start with the elements that appear the least within the equation, and then move on to the elements that appear with greater frequency. In this case, you would probably want to start with balancing carbon and end with balancing oxygen. Another thing to note is that on the left side of the equation there are 5 oxygen atoms, and on the right there are only 2 oxygen atoms, so I would first try and add a coefficient to the molecule with the single oxygen atom to make it an even number of oxygen on the left side before I add any coefficient to the molecule with 4 oxygen atoms.