Balancing half reactions

[Clara Cho 2K]

When you put the two half reactions together should the electrons cancel each other out?

[KeyaV1C]

I’m not too sure if I understand your question, but when you’re balancing redox reactions when you’re given individual reactions, you need to make sure the electrons cancel out.

[105311039]

Yes you should be able to cancel out the electrons when you combine both half equations.

[Joseph Saba]

Make sure that the amount of electrons transferred are all accounted for on the other side of the equation

[Venus_Hagan 2L]

Yes, the number of electrons lost in one reaction should equal the number of electrons gained in the other.

[Eunice Nguyen 4I]

When you combine the two half reactions together, the electrons on both sides should cancel each other out, so make sure that they're equal to one another before combining.

[Chantel_2I]

Yes, they should cancel out, which is why we must balance the reduction and oxidation reactions, to make sure the number of electrons on the left is equal to the number of electrons on the right.

[Brandon Valafar]

Yes! They do cancel out. We balance out the reactions so there is the same number of electrons lost on one side are gained on the other for them to cancel.

[Pablo 1K]

Yes! Ensure your charges on both side equal as electrons cancel out.

[Jessica Kwek 4F]

When balancing half reactions, make sure that your electrons cancel out. They would cancel as long as the number of electrons on both sides are equal to each other.

[Viviana Velasquez]

Yes, you have to cancel out the electrons on both sides. Most times you'll have to multiply at least one of the half reactions in order to get the same amount of electrons on each side to be able to cancel them out.

[Abby Soriano 1J]

We haven't talked much yet about properly balancing half-reactions, but I know that there are a lot more steps involved, such as adding H2O to balance any oxygens and adding H+ to balance any hydrogens. The number of electrons you add should be to properly balance the charges on both sides, and yes the number of electrons for each half-reaction should equal each other (you can multiply one half-reaction by a certain factor to get them to equal each other) so that they cancel out. Prof Lavelle might discuss this further (or not!) so I wouldn't worry too much about it!