Why is it important to balance an equation?

Answer 1

being able to write a balanced equation for a reaction is very important. By balancing an equation we can tell how much material we will need to start with, what the likely products to form, and how much of these products will form

Answer 2

Chemistry is a quantitative science, keeping track of the components in a reaction is only really feasible if everything is accounted for.

consider O2 + H2 = H2O (unbalanced)

Placing a 1/2 in front of the O2 yields important information, it shows that overall to produce the water molecule you will only need half the amount of oxygen by number of moles than you will the amount of hydrogen.

This becomes very important any time you need to use a chemical equation, if it isn't balanced it isn't going to yield the right information. For example if you are trying to determine the over all reaction Gibbs energy from tables of thermodynamic data, or if you were trying to figure out the reaction going on at a cathode (positive electrode ) when you have the equation for the process at the corresponding anode (negative electrode) and the overall equation. If these equations don't balance you would not be getting the correct results when you act on them.

Answer 3

The law of conservation of matter: matter cannot just disappear or appear from nothing. It must go somewhere. That could be into an elemental form or into a complicated compound, but it cannot just cease to exist.

Answer 4

It is because in every chemical reaction the mass of reactants is equal to the mass of the products formed as stated by law of conservation of mass.

This can be achieved only by balancing the equation.

Answer 5

We need to balance chemical equations to satisfy the law of conservation of mass. The number of each element must be the same in the products as in the reactants. 2H2+O2-->2H2O has 4 H atoms on both sides and 2 O atoms on both sides.

Answer 6

An equation must be balanced because of the law of conservation of matter.

Answer 7

To balance a chemical reaction is to show the principle of conservation of matter.

Answer 8

It is important to balance an equation in order to specify the correct atomic and mass ratios among all the reactancts and products.

Answer 9

It is important and necessary to balance a chemical equation because they must obey law of conservation of mass.

Answer 10

The purposes are:
- to know the amount of reactants involved in a reaction
- to calculate the yield of a reaction