Question

When finely divided solid sodium is dropped into a flask containing chlorine gas, an explosion occurs and a fine powder of sodium chloride is deposited on the walls of the flask. Write the unbalanced chemical equation for this process.

Short answer

The unbalanced chemical equation for the reaction between solid sodium (Na) and chlorine gas (Cl2) to form sodium chloride (NaCl) is: \[Na(s) + Cl_2(g) \rightarrow NaCl(s)\] To balance the equation, the correct balanced chemical equation is: \[2Na(s) + Cl_2(g) \rightarrow 2NaCl(s)\]

Step-by-step solution

Identify the reactants and the product

In this reaction, the reactants are solid sodium (Na) and chlorine gas (Cl2). The product is sodium chloride (NaCl). Make sure that the states of each substance are correctly represented in the chemical equation: solid sodium (Na(s)), chlorine gas (Cl2(g)), and sodium chloride (NaCl(s)).

Write the unbalanced chemical equation

Now, write the chemical equation using the reactants and the product with their correct states: \[Na(s) + Cl_2(g) \rightarrow NaCl(s)\] This chemical equation is still unbalanced because the number of atoms on each side of the equation is not equal. To balance the equation, we need to make sure that there are equal amounts of sodium and chlorine atoms on both sides.

Balance the chemical equation

To balance the chemical equation, you may notice that there are two chlorine atoms in the reactant chlorine molecule (Cl2) and only one in the product sodium chloride (NaCl). Therefore, we need two moles of sodium chloride to equalize the number of chlorine atoms on both sides of the equation. Also, since we have two moles of sodium chloride, we need two moles of sodium as well. The balanced equation becomes: \[2Na(s) + Cl_2(g) \rightarrow 2NaCl(s)\] Now, the chemical equation is balanced, as there are equal amounts of sodium (2) and chlorine (2) atoms on both sides of the equation.