Write a Balanced equation for the chemcial reaction Acetylene gas (C2H2) burns in a welding torch with oxygen to form carbon dioxide gas and water vapor.

C2H2(g) + O2(g) ==> CO2(g) + H2O(g)
It isn't balanced. I will leave that for you.

How do i balance it?

trial and error.
C2H2 + O2 ==> CO2 + H2O.
I see 2 C on the left and only 1 on the right so I place a coefficient of 2 for CO2 on the right. And we go from there. Sometimes the 2 is right and sometimes it must be changed. So we are up to
C2H2 + O2 ==> 2CO2 + H2O
Now you finish.

Okay,is this right?
2 C2H2 + 5 O2 --> 4 CO2 + 2 H2O

Very good.

1 answer

Yes. There are 4 carbons and hydrogens on each side of the equation and there are 10 oxygens on each side too. Good Job!