H1 // Book Problem [ENDORSED]

[Frenz Cabison 1B]

There's this one textbook question that goes: It appears that balancing the chemical equation Cu + SO2 ---> CuO + S would be simple if we could
just add another O atom to the product side: Cu+ SO2 ---> CuO+S+O. (a) Why is that balancing procedure not allowed?

Is this not allowed because by doing so, you're basically changing the whole reaction? O is not produced or involved in the reaction, which is why you could not just add another O atom to the product side.

[Nora Sharp 1C]

I believe you're correct. Adding an oxygen atom to the right side of the equation would be adding a product that isn't produced by the reaction in the first place, so now the modified equation isn't even a representation of the original.

[MichelleKaku1H]

Yes, you cannot just simply add an element to the chemical equation if it isn't produced. To balance an equation, you need to add stoichiometric coefficients, not add elements to the reaction.

[veneziaramirez 3I]

By adding an O to the products, it will indicate that free range Oxygen atoms are ALSO being produced, which is not the case. So adding an O will indicate that a different reaction is occurring.

[Victoria Draper 1G]

Since O is not an original reactant by itself, it cannot be added on as a product.

[SantanaRodriguezDis1G]

Yes, because by the law of conservation of mass, matter can not be created nor destroyed

[LillyLopez1A]

Yes! The Law of Conservation states that within chemical reactions atoms are not created nor destroyed causing for us to not be able to put unattached atoms into an equation in order to just balance it.

[Kaelie Blanes-Ronda 2L]

If you were to add another O as a product the whole equation and the chemical reaction it expresses would be completely altered. The use of a new O would show a creation of new matter that wasn't a part of the reaction. Rather all you have to do is balance the equation to 2Cu+ SO2 ---> 2CuO+S.