To balance the chemical equation \( \text{Na} + \text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow \text{NaOH} + \text{H}_2 \), we need to ensure that the number of each type of atom on the reactant side equals the number on the product side.
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On the left side:
- Sodium (Na): 1
- Hydrogen (H): 2 (1 from \(\text{H}_2\text{O}\) and 1 from the diatomic \(\text{H}_2\))
- Oxygen (O): 1
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On the right side:
- Sodium (Na): 1 (from \(\text{NaOH}\))
- Hydrogen (H): 3 (1 from \(\text{NaOH}\) and 2 from \(\text{H}_2\))
- Oxygen (O): 1
To balance this, we can start by noticing that we have 3 hydrogens on the product side and only 2 on the reactant side. The simplest way to balance this equation is to adjust the coefficients:
The balanced equation will be:
\[ 2 \text{Na} + 2 \text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow 2 \text{NaOH} + \text{H}_2 \]
The coefficients are:
- 2 for Na
- 2 for H2O
- 2 for NaOH
- 1 for H2
So, the balanced equation is:
\[ 2 \text{Na} + 2 \text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow 2 \text{NaOH} + \text{H}_2 \]