When balanced, which equation would have the coefficient 3 in front of any of the reactants?

Zn + HCl ZnCl2 + H2
H2SO4 + B(OH)3 B2(SO4)3 + H2O
Fe + AgNO3 Fe(NO3)2 + Ag
C2H4O2 + O2 CO2 +H2O

1 answer

To determine which of the given chemical equations would have a coefficient of 3 in front of any of the reactants when balanced, we need to analyze each equation one by one and balance them.

  1. Zn + HCl → ZnCl2 + H2:

    • Balancing:
      • We have 1 Zn on both sides.
      • For Cl, we need 2 HCl to obtain 2 Cl for ZnCl2.
      • Thus, we have: Zn + 2 HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
      • Coefficient 2 appears in front of HCl, not 3.
  2. H2SO4 + B(OH)3 → B2(SO4)3 + H2O:

    • Balancing:
      • We have 2 B atoms on the product side, so we need 2 B(OH)3 on the reactant side.
      • We have 3 SO4, so we balance with 3 H2SO4.
      • Balancing hydrogen gives: 3 H2SO4 + 2 B(OH)3 → B2(SO4)3 + 6 H2O
      • The coefficient 3 appears in front of H2SO4.
  3. Fe + AgNO3 → Fe(NO3)2 + Ag:

    • Balancing:
      • Fe is 1 on both sides.
      • We need 2 AgNO3 to obtain 2 Ag and get 2 NO3 for Fe(NO3)2.
      • So we write: Fe + 2 AgNO3 → Fe(NO3)2 + 2 Ag
      • Coefficient 2 appears in front of AgNO3, not 3.
  4. C2H4O2 + O2 → CO2 + H2O:

    • Balancing:
      • For C, 2 C from C2H4O2 means we need 2 CO2.
      • For H, we have 4 H from C2H4O2 so we need 2 H2O.
      • Balancing gives us: 1 C2H4O2 + 2 O2 → 2 CO2 + 2 H2O
      • Coefficient 2 appears in front of O2, not 3.

From our analysis, the only equation that results in the coefficient 3 in front of a reactant while balancing is:

H2SO4 + B(OH)3 → B2(SO4)3 + H2O