To balance the equation \( 2Cu₂S + __O₂ \rightarrow __Cu₂O + 2SO₂ \), we need to ensure that we have the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation.
Let's break it down step by step:
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Count the elements in the reactants and products.
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Reactants:
- Copper (Cu): \(2 \times 2 = 4\) (from \(2Cu₂S\))
- Sulfur (S): \(2 \times 1 = 2\) (from \(2Cu₂S\))
- Oxygen (O): Let's denote the coefficient of \(O₂\) as \(x\): \(2x\) (from \(O₂\))
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Products:
- Copper (Cu): \(x\) (from \(Cu₂O\))
- Sulfur (S): \(2\) (from \(2SO₂\))
- Oxygen (O): \(x + 4\) (from \(Cu₂O\) and \(2SO₂\), which gives \(2+4 = 6\))
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Set up the equations based on what's balanced.
- From \(Cu\), we need \(4\) on the product side, so \(x = 2\).
- For Oxygen: The reactants \(2x = 2 \times 2 = 4\) and product \(2 + 4 = 6\). This means the \(O\) in the product side counts for both \(Cu₂O\) and \(SO₂\).
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Re-evaluate based on Chemistry:
- We reanalyze if we can balance each reaction actual numbers of Cu, S, and O.
After finding the coefficients for \(O_2\):
The balanced equation would be:
\[ 2Cu₂S + 3O₂ \rightarrow 4Cu₂O + 2SO₂ \]
So the correct coefficients for \(O_2\) and \(Cu₂O\) are \(3\) and \(4\) respectively. Hence the answer is:
3, 4.
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