Use the equation to answer the question. CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + H2O Which statement describes why this chemical equation is not correct? (1 point) Responses There are more carbons on the reactant side than on the product side. There are more carbons on the reactant side than on the product side. There are fewer hydrogens in water than there should be, the subscript should be changed. There are fewer

Question

hydrogens in water than there should be, the subscript should be changed. There are more oxygens on both sides than their are carbons. There are more oxygens on both sides than their are carbons. There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the reactant side than on the product side.

Answer 1

To analyze the equation \( \text{CH}_4 + 2\text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O} \), let's count the number of each type of atom on both sides:

Reactants:

• 1 Carbon (C) from CH4
• 4 Hydrogens (H) from CH4
• 4 Oxygens (O) from 2 O2 (2 \times 2 = 4)

Products:

• 1 Carbon (C) from CO2
• 2 Hydrogens (H) from H2O
• 3 Oxygens (O) (2 from CO2 and 1 from H2O)

Now let's summarize the counts:

• Carbons: 1 (reactants) vs. 1 (products) - balanced
• Hydrogens: 4 (reactants) vs. 2 (products) - not balanced
• Oxygens: 4 (reactants) vs. 3 (products) - not balanced

Based on this analysis, the statement that best describes the issue with the chemical equation is:

There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the reactant side than on the product side.

Therefore, the correct response is: There are more hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the reactant side than on the product side.