[CHM 111] Alum Lab Report - Overall Balanced Equation

[Andrew J. Pounds]

On 09/19/2018 03:52 PM,wrote:
>
> Hi Prof. Pounds,
>
> I am currently stuck on one part of the Alum Synthesis lab report.
> When, in the first question, it says to give the overall balanced
> equation, am I supposed to start with the empirical formulas and
> balance from there? Also what does it mean when the directions say
> "cross out anything that occurs on both the reactant and product sides
> to combine like terms" does this mean that I have to cross out the
> element, or the stoichiometric coefficient? 
>
> Thank you,
>
>

So the idea here is that you want to cancel common terms -- like in a
mathematical equation.  If, for example, you had the two equations


A + B = C


C + D = E


You could rewrite it as


A + B + D = E


In your first two reactions you have...


2 Al + 2 KOH + 6 H_2 O --> 2 KAl(OH)_4 + 3 H_2


2 KAl(OH)_4 + H_2 SO4 --> 2 Al(OH)_3 + 2 H_2 O + K_2 SO_4


if you were to cancel out the common term you would have...



2 Al + 2 KOH + 3 H_2 O + H_2 SO4 --> 2 Al(OH)_3 + K_2 SO_4

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_continue this process through all four reactions.

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-- 
Andrew J. Pounds, Ph.D.  (pounds_aj at mercer.edu)
Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science
Mercer University,  Macon, GA 31207   (478) 301-5627
http://faculty.mercer.edu/pounds_aj

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