To balance the chemical equation \( \text{Al} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Al}_2\text{O}_3 \), we need to ensure that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
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Write down the unbalanced equation: \[ \text{Al} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Al}_2\text{O}_3 \]
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Identify the number of atoms for each element:
- Reactants:
- Al: 1
- O: 2
- Products:
- Al: 2
- O: 3
- Reactants:
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Start balancing:
- We can balance Al by putting a coefficient of 2 in front of Al on the left side: \[ 2\text{Al} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Al}_2\text{O}_3 \]
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Now look at the oxygen atoms:
- On the left, we have 2 oxygen from \(\text{O}_2\).
- On the right, there are 3 oxygen in \(\text{Al}_2\text{O}_3\).
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To balance O, we can put a coefficient of \(\frac{3}{2}\) in front of \(\text{O}_2\): \[ 2\text{Al} + \frac{3}{2}\text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Al}_2\text{O}_3 \]
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To avoid fractions, we can multiply the entire equation by 2: \[ 4\text{Al} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{Al}_2\text{O}_3 \]
Now the balanced equation is: \[ 4\text{Al} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{Al}_2\text{O}_3 \]
So, the blanks would be filled in as follows:
Blank 1: 4
Blank 2: 3
Blank 3: 2
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