Balancing Chemical Equations

[jordanginyard_]

When balancing a chemical equation... say if one of the problems says like CO4, do I say C=1 and O=4 or do I say C=4 and O=4 ?

[Eve Gross-Sable 1B]

Based on understanding of the question, C is 1 and O is 4

[Ansh Patel 2I]

Hi! In this circumstance, it's C=1 and O=4. If there was a coefficient in front of the equation (4CO...) or a subscript with C, then the number of carbons would change.

[Hannah Alltucker 3L]

You're going to want the same amount of each atom on either side of the equation. I think from what you're saying you should just be aware that CO4 (1 C and 4 O) is very different from 4CO (4 C and 4 O), but I'm not really sure if you're asking how to determine the number of atoms on each side or not. The main thing is to make sure you have even numbers on each side either way though

ex. 2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O
H 4 4
O 2 2

[Navdha Sharma 3J]

CO4 will mean that C=1 and O=4. However, if the compound had been (CO)4, it would have meant that C=4 and O=4. Usually, the parentheses(if present) around the atoms of the compound will help you to determine the number of those atoms.

[Aimee Alvarado 3J]

Because there are no parentheses around CO4, this just means that they are being counted separately. By this, I mean that C = 1 and O = 4. If it was (CO4)^2, then that would mean you would multiply each element with 2, becoming C = 2 and O = 8.

[Gicelle Rubin 1E]

Hi there! For the example, CO4, the correct answer would be:

C= 1 and O=4

simply because there is no coefficient next to carbon the same way there is one for hydrogen.

[Daniela Santana 2L]

In the problem you gave CO4 would be C=1 and O=4. This is because there is one carbon atom and four oxygen atoms in the compound you listed. If you're confused on whether elements are together or not like if its C and O or CO, look at the periodic table and see if you can find it on there. From what I've noticed, the elements on the periodic table only contain one capital letter (and its the first letter), if they were to have a second letter it would be lowercase. When looking at a compound you can distinguish when the amount of atoms per element ends by paying attention to the capitalization. Hope this helps!

[Day Preciado 1H]

C=1 and O=4
The four in CO4 isn't distributed to both C and O unless it was 4CO then it would be C=4 and O=4.

[Teti Omilana 1G]

Like previously stated, the only time a number would apply to both elements is if it's used as a coefficient (e.g. 2CO; C=2, O=2). So in that example since the 4 is only after the O, C=1 and O=4.

[Edward Castro]

C would be 1 and O would be 4. There is no coefficient next to the carbon ,and thats why C would equal 1.

[Brandon Carris]

C = 1 O = 4 is the correct answer. When counting numbers of atoms, the number following the element symbol only determines the amount of that specific element.