Question

What is the balanced form of the equation?
Br2 + S2O32– + H2O → Br1– + SO42– + H+

Answer 1

Try to balance it first and I will let you know if you are correct or incorrect. We can work together to better help you balance this equation.

Here are a few steps that might help:

1. Draw boxes around all the chemical formulas. Never, ever, change anything inside the boxes. Ever. Really. If you do, you're guaranteed to get the answer wrong.

2. Make an element inventory. How are you going to know if the equation is balanced if you don't actually make a list of how many of each atom you have? You won't. You have to make an inventory of how many atoms of each element you have, and then you have to keep it current throughout the whole problem.

3. Write numbers in front of each of the boxes until the inventory for each element is the same both before and after the reaction. Whenever you change a number, make sure to update the inventory - otherwise, you run the risk of balancing it incorrectly. When all the numbers in the inventory balance (meaning they are all the same for the reactants and product side - left and right side) then the equation can balance.