To balance the chemical equation \( 4NaCl + 2SO_2 + __ H_2O + __ O_2 \rightarrow __ Na_2SO_4 + 4HCl \), we need to ensure that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
Let's analyze the original unbalanced equation:
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Reactants:
- \( Na \): 4 (from \( 4NaCl \))
- \( Cl \): 4 (from \( 4NaCl \))
- \( S \): 2 (from \( 2SO_2 \))
- \( O \): 4 (2 from each \( SO_2 \), total of 4)
- \( H \): needs to be determined based on what is produced
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Products:
- Each \( Na_2SO_4 \) contains 2 Na and 1 S, so from \( __ Na_2SO_4 \), we can conclude that we will need 2 moles for the given 4 Na (this means we need 2\( Na_2SO_4 \)).
- Each \( Na_2SO_4 \) also contributes 4 O (so with 2 moles, we get 8 O)
- There are 4 \( HCl \) contributing 4 Cl (which matches the 4 Cl from the reactants)
From this, the products can be seen as:
- For \( 2Na_2SO_4 \), we get 2S and 8O (from two \( Na_2SO_4 \))
- For \( 4HCl \), we get 4H and 4Cl.
Now for the water and oxygen:
- We need 4 H from the \( HCl \), which means we need 2 \( H_2O \) to provide the required hydrogen.
- The total number of oxygen atoms required on the product side should be:
- 8 from \( Na_2SO_4 \)
- 4 from \( HCl \)
- That means we need a total of 12 O atoms on the reactant side.
- Right now, we have 4 (from \( 2SO_2 \)) plus 2 from \( H_2O \) plus \( O_2 \) needs.
Now let's put the equation together:
- \( 4NaCl + 2SO_2 + 2H_2O + O_2 \rightarrow 2Na_2SO_4 + 4HCl \)
So the correct answer is: 4NaCl + 2SO2 + 2H2O + O2 → 2Na2SO4 + 4HCl
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