When balancing the equation H2SO4 (aq) + NaOH (aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + H2O(aq), would you change the coefficients of the compounds or the subscripts of the compounds? Explain your answer.

Respuesta :

Answer: We change the coefficients of the compounds in the given chemical reaction.

Explanation:

Coefficients are defined as the numbers that are written in front of the atoms or molecules participating in a chemical reaction. They represent the number of moles of substance in a chemical reaction.

Subscript numbers are defined as the number of atoms of each element present in a compound.

Every balanced chemical equation follows law of conservation of mass.

This law states that mass can neither be created nor be destroyed but it can only be transformed from one form to another form. This also means that total number of individual atoms on reactant side must be equal to the total number of individual atoms on the product side.

For the given chemical equation, the balanced reaction follows:

[tex]H_2SO_4(aq.)+2NaOH(aq.)\rightarrow Na_2SO_4(aq.)+2H_2O(aq.)[/tex]

By Stoichiometry of the reaction:

1 mole of sulfuric acid reacts with 2 moles of sodium hydroxide to produce 1 mole of sodium sulfate and 2 moles of water.

Hence, we change the coefficients of the compounds in the given chemical reaction.