Question

A student writes this chemical equation. You see that it is incorrect as written.

1N2 +4H2 → 2NH3 + 1H2


1 diatomic nitrogen ( 1N2
) and 4 diatomic hydrogen ( 4H2
) produce 2 ammonia ( 2NH3
) with 1 diatomic hydrogen ( 1H2
) left over. How can you correct the equation?

(1 point)
Responses

Remove a H2
molecule from the left side of the equation.
Remove a h sub 2 molecule from the left side of the equation.

Remove a H2
molecule from both the left and right sides of the equation.
Remove a h sub 2 molecule from both the left and right sides of the equation.

Add another N2
molecule to the left side of the equation.
Add another n sub 2 molecule to the left side of the equation.

Remove a NH3
molecule from the right side of the equation.

Answer 1

To correct the chemical equation, you need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is balanced on both sides of the equation.

The original equation is:

\[ 1N_2 + 4H_2 → 2NH_3 + 1H_2 \]

In this equation:
- The left side has 1 nitrogen molecule (N₂) and 4 hydrogen molecules (H₂), giving a total of 2 nitrogen atoms and 8 hydrogen atoms.
- The right side has 2 ammonia (NH₃) molecules (giving 2 nitrogen and 6 hydrogen) and 1 hydrogen molecule (H₂) (adding 2 more hydrogen atoms), resulting in a total of 2 nitrogen and 8 hydrogen.

While the equation reflects the correct number of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms overall, the leftover \( H_2 \) on the right side creates an imbalance.

To fix it, you should:

**Remove a \( H_2 \) molecule from the left side of the equation.**

Thus, the corrected equation becomes:

\[ 1N_2 + 3H_2 → 2NH_3 \]

This ensures that both sides have the same number of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms.