OH or H20

[005199302]

When do we use OH versus H2O to balance the hydrogens on both sides. Are they interchangeable?

[Jack DeLeon 1B]

when balancing half reactions, h20 will generally be used to balance oxygen, but when in a basic environment, OH should then be used to balance the excess hydrogen

[Brian Kwak 1D]

When balancing half reactions first balance the Oxygens with H2O then depending on the type of solution it is you either add H+ to balance the hydrogens from H20 (in an acidic solution, usually the question will explicitly state it) or OH to balance the H from H20 (basic solution).