Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: stevegraham on 12/05/2021 17:34:32

Title: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 12/05/2021 17:34:32: C5H12 + Cl2 = C5H11 (liquid) + Hcl (gas)

Just checking if this equation is balanced properly?
Its when pentane reacts with chlorine liquid to produce liquid chloropentane through the substitution of hydrogen with chlorine. Hydrogen chloride gas is also a product of this reaction
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: chiralSPO on 12/05/2021 17:55:15: to be balanced, it needs to have the same number of each atom on each side of the equation (and the charges on either side should be equal)

You are correct in that the balanced reaction should be one mole of pentane plus one mole of chlorine gives one mole of chloropentane and one mole of hydrochloric acid, but there are some errors in your chemical equation that are preventing everything from adding up correctly.
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: Bored chemist on 12/05/2021 18:46:10: Quote from: stevegraham on 12/05/2021 17:34:32
C5H11
You should check on that.
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 18:39:52: 2C5H12 + Cl2 = 2C5H11 +2Hcl

Have had a look and am wondering if this is right?
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: Bored chemist on 13/05/2021 18:46:53: What are the products of the reaction?
What are their formulae?
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 18:51:57: Liquid chloropentane and hydrogen chloride gas
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: Bored chemist on 13/05/2021 19:34:15: What is the formula for chloropentane?
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 20:22:23: C5H12 + Cl2 = CH3 (CH2) 4Cl (l) + HCl (g)

Dont think its this, I just cant seem to work it out at all. Thanks anyway for your help, appreciated
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 20:35:44: C5H12 + Cl2 = C5H11Cl + HCl

Can anyone explain to me how to balance this and where im going wrong please as im completely lost? Thanks
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: Kryptid on 13/05/2021 20:43:57: Perhaps this will be of some assistance?
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 20:55:05: Have watched this and two other balancing equations videos on youtube and still lost. Dont think chemistry is for me! Thank you
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: Bored chemist on 13/05/2021 21:05:41: Quote from: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 20:35:44
C5H11Cl
That's better.
And that equation is balanced.
Sometimes, it's that easy.

You can always check
5 carbons on each side
2 chlorines on each side.
12 hydrogens on each side.
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: alancalverd on 13/05/2021 22:47:39: The theory of chemistry is that atoms of a given element aren't created or destroyed, so every atom that appears on the left must also appear on the right. Which at first sight makes chemistry trivial, like noughts and crosses.

The practice is more subtle: there has to be an energetic or entropic advantage in the rearrangement of the pieces, and there may be lots of other ways in which the elements could combine to make stuff you don't want. Which makes chemistry decidedly nontrivial, like chess.
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: chiralSPO on 14/05/2021 04:28:29: Quote from: stevegraham on 13/05/2021 20:35:44
C5H12 + Cl2 = C5H11Cl + HCl

This is now correct
Title: Re: Balanced equation advice?
Post by: stevegraham on 15/05/2021 16:53:30: Thank you so much. I understand it a lot better now