Use the equation to answer the question.

Question

CH4+2O2→CO2+H2O

Which statement describes why this chemical equation is not correct?

(1 point)
Responses

There are more oxygens on the left side than the right side.
There are more oxygens on the left side than the right side.

There are more carbons on the left side than the right side.
There are more carbons on the left side than the right side.

There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the left side than the right side.
There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the left side than the right side.

There are more carbons and oxygens on the left side than the right side.

Answer 1

To determine whether the chemical equation is balanced, let's count the number of atoms for each element on both sides of the equation:

Left Side (Reactants):

• Carbon (C): 1 from CH₄
• Hydrogen (H): 4 from CH₄
• Oxygen (O): 4 from 2 O₂ (since 2 × 2 = 4)

Right Side (Products):

• Carbon (C): 1 from CO₂
• Hydrogen (H): 2 from H₂O
• Oxygen (O): 3 from CO₂ and H₂O (2 from CO₂ + 1 from H₂O = 3)

Now, let's summarize the totals:

• Left Side: 1 C, 4 H, 4 O
• Right Side: 1 C, 2 H, 3 O

From this analysis, we find:

• The number of oxygens is not balanced: 4 on the left and 3 on the right.
• The number of hydrogens is not balanced: 4 on the left and 2 on the right.

So, the statement "There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the left side than the right side." accurately describes why the equation is not correct.

Thus, the correct response is:

There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the left side than the right side.