Question

__NH3 + ___CuO -> __N2 +__Cu + H2O
Balance

Answer 1

To balance the chemical equation \( \text{NH}_3 + \text{CuO} \rightarrow \text{N}_2 + \text{Cu} + \text{H}_2\text{O} \), we can follow these steps:

1. **Identify the compounds**: We have ammonia (\( \text{NH}_3 \)), copper(II) oxide (\( \text{CuO} \)), nitrogen gas (\( \text{N}_2 \)), copper (\( \text{Cu} \)), and water (\( \text{H}_2\text{O} \)).

2. **Write the unbalanced equation**:
\[
\text{NH}_3 + \text{CuO} \rightarrow \text{N}_2 + \text{Cu} + \text{H}_2\text{O}
\]

3. **Count the number of atoms for each element on both sides**.

4. **Start balancing with nitrogen**:
- On the left, there are 2 nitrogen atoms in \( \text{N}_2 \) on the right. So, we will need 2 \( \text{NH}_3 \):
\[
2 \text{NH}_3 + \text{CuO} \rightarrow \text{N}_2 + \text{Cu} + \text{H}_2\text{O}
\]

5. **Balance hydrogen next**:
- There are 6 hydrogen atoms (2 from each \( \text{NH}_3 \)) on the left. This means we need 3 \( \text{H}_2\text{O} \) on the right:
\[
2 \text{NH}_3 + \text{CuO} \rightarrow \text{N}_2 + \text{Cu} + 3 \text{H}_2\text{O}
\]

6. **Now check copper and oxygen**:
- From 3 \( \text{H}_2\text{O} \), we have 3 oxygen atoms on the right side. Therefore, we need 3 \( \text{CuO} \) on the left:
\[
2 \text{NH}_3 + 3 \text{CuO} \rightarrow \text{N}_2 + 3 \text{Cu} + 3 \text{H}_2\text{O}
\]

7. **Final Check**:
- Left: 2 N, 6 H, 3 Cu, and 3 O.
- Right: 2 N, 6 H, 3 Cu, and 3 O.

The balanced equation is:
\[
2 \text{NH}_3 + 3 \text{CuO} \rightarrow \text{N}_2 + 3 \text{Cu} + 3 \text{H}_2\text{O}
\]