Connie and Dewayne know that solid potassium reacts very strongly with water, producing a chemical called potassium hydroxide along with hydrogen gas. They know the chemical equation looks like this.

Question

2K + 2H 2 O → 2KOH + some amount of H 2

a. There are 4 atoms of hydrogen shown on the reactant side. How many total atoms of hydrogen must be on the product side?

GPT-4o mini · Answer

In the chemical equation provided: $$ 2K + 2H_2O \rightarrow 2KOH + \text{some amount of } H_2 $$ On the reactant side, the $2H_2O$ contains 4 hydrogen atoms (since each water molecule $H_2O$ has 2 hydrogen atoms, and there are 2 water molecules: $2 \times 2 = 4$). Now, let's analyze the product side: - The $2KOH$ contains 2 hydrogen atoms (since each potassium hydroxide $KOH$ has 1 hydrogen atom, and there are 2 $KOH$: $2 \times 1 = 2$). - The hydrogen gas $H_2$ contributes an additional 2 hydrogen atoms. So to balance the hydrogen atoms on the product side: - From $2KOH$ we have 2 hydrogen atoms. - From $H_2$ we have 2 hydrogen atoms. Adding these together gives us: $$ 2 \text{ (from } KOH\text{)} + 2 \text{ (from } H_2\text{)} = 4 \text{ hydrogen atoms on the product side.} $$ Thus, the total number of hydrogen atoms on the product side must also be **4**.