Which is the next logical step in balancing the given equation?

Question

CS2(l) + Cl2(g)
CCl4(l) + S2Cl2(l)
A.
Place the coefficient 2 in front of sulfur dichloride (S2Cl2).
B.
Place the coefficient 3 in front of the chlorine molecule.
C.
Leave the equation alone as it is already balanced.
D.
Place the coefficient 4 in front of carbon disulfide(CS2).
E.
Place the coefficient 2 in front of carbon tetrachloride(CCl4).

Answer 1

To determine the next logical step in balancing the equation \( \text{CS}_2(l) + \text{Cl}_2(g) \rightarrow \text{CCl}_4(l) + \text{S}_2\text{Cl}_2(l) \), we need to analyze the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation.

On the left side, we have:

• Carbon (C) = 1 from CS2
• Sulfur (S) = 2 from CS2
• Chlorine (Cl) = 2 from Cl2

On the right side, we have:

• Carbon (C) = 1 from CCl4
• Sulfur (S) = 2 from S2Cl2
• Chlorine (Cl) = 4 from CCl4 + 2 from S2Cl2 = 6 in total

Now, let's summarize what we have:

• C: 1 on both sides
• S: 2 on both sides
• Cl: 2 on the left side and 6 on the right side

Since the number of chlorine atoms is unbalanced, we need to balance that.

To balance the chlorines, we can see that we need to change the coefficient in front of Cl2. Specifically, placing a coefficient of 3 in front of Cl2 will give us \( 3 \times 2 = 6 \) chlorine atoms on the left side which will match the 6 chlorine atoms on the right side.

Thus, the next logical step to balance the equation is:

B. Place the coefficient 3 in front of the chlorine molecule.