Question

Write a balanced equation that corresponds to the following word equation for a reaction in aqueous solution: barium chloride \(+\) sulfuric acid barium sulfate + hydrochloric acid

Short answer

The balanced chemical equation is \(\text{BaCl}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 + 2\text{HCl}\).

Step-by-step solution

Write down the chemical formulae

First, convert the words into the chemical formulae. Barium chloride is \(\text{BaCl}_2\), sulfuric acid is \(\text{H}_2\text{SO}_4\), barium sulfate is \(\text{BaSO}_4\), and hydrochloric acid is \(\text{HCl}\).

Write down the unbalanced chemical equation

Then, write down the unbalanced chemical equation that corresponds to the word equation: \(\text{BaCl}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 + \text{HCl}\).

Balancing the chemical equation

Balance the chemical equation. There are 2 chlorine atoms on the reactant side (left) and only 1 on the product side (right), also there's 1 hydrogen atom on the product side (right) and 2 on the reactant side (left). So, to balance this, place a 2 in front of the \(\text{HCl}\) on the right side of the equation: \(\text{BaCl}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 + 2\text{HCl}\). Now, the equation is balanced.

Key concepts

Chemical Formulae

Chemical formulae are symbols that represent the elements contained within a compound, and the subscripted numbers indicate the number of atoms of each element in the compound. Learning to interpret these symbols is key to understanding the composition of chemicals and is the first step in the process of balancing chemical equations.

Take the formula \(\text{BaCl}_2\) for example. Here, \(\text{Ba}\) stands for barium, and \(\text{Cl}\) stands for chlorine. The subscripted 2 indicates that there are two chlorine atoms for every one barium atom in the compound. When writing chemical formulae, it's important to use the correct symbols for each element and to include the right subscripts to accurately reflect the proportions of elements present.

Aqueous Solution Reactions

Aqueous solution reactions occur when compounds dissolve in water to form a solution. In chemistry, the term 'aqueous' is used to describe a substance that is dissolved in water. When substances dissolve, they break apart or react to form ions or new compounds which then can interact with each other.

For instance, when barium chloride, \(\text{BaCl}_2\), a solid, is added to water, it dissolves and separates into barium \(\text{Ba}^{2+}\) and chloride \(\text{Cl}^-\) ions. These ions can further react with other ions in solution, leading to new product formation. An understanding of these interactions is vital for predicting the outcomes of reactions in an aqueous environment.

Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is the part of chemistry that involves calculating the amounts of reactants and products in chemical reactions. It's based on the conservation of mass and the idea that atoms are neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions.

From our exercise, we see that the initial unbalanced equation was \(\text{BaCl}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 + \text{HCl}\). By balancing the chemical equation, we ensure that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides of the equation. The balanced equation \(\text{BaCl}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 + 2\text{HCl}\), shows a stoichiometric relationship where one mole of barium chloride reacts with one mole of sulfuric acid to produce one mole of barium sulfate and two moles of hydrochloric acid. Grasping stoichiometry is essential for the quantitative analysis of chemical processes.