Balance the following chemical equation: Fe+H2O→Fe3O4+H2

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: September 25th, 2023

The balanced chemical equation is 3Fe + 4H2O → Fe3O4 + 4H2. Balance is required in all chemical equations. This dictates that each sort of atom must be present in exactly the same quantity on both sides of the arrow. That’s because chemical reactions always result in the conservation of mass. Determine how many oxygen and hydrogen atoms there are on either side of the arrow. In both the reactants and the products, there are two hydrogen atoms.

Table of content

1. Fe + H2O → Fe3O4 + H2, Balance the Equation.
2. Balance the following chemical equation: Fe+H2O→Fe3O4+H2

Fe + H2O → Fe3O4 + H2, Balance the Equation.

The reactants and products of a chemical reaction are represented symbolically in a chemical equation by the appropriate chemical formulas. The question states Balance the following chemical equation: Fe+H2O→Fe3O4+H2 The inclusion of stoichiometric coefficients to the reactants and products is necessary to balance chemical equations.

This is significant because a chemical equation must adhere to the laws of conservation of mass and constant proportions, meaning that both the reactant and product sides of the equation must include the same amount of atoms of each element.

The steps to balance this Fe + H2O → Fe3O4 + H2 chemical equation are as follows:

Step 1: Given equation:

Fe + H2O → Fe3O4 + H2

Step 2: The procedure used to balance the equation by balancing chemical equations the conventional way.

To start, add up all the atoms of every element on both the product and reactant sides.
Molecules containing an element having a distinct number of atoms on the product side and the reactant side should be given stoichiometric coefficients.
The number of atoms must be balanced by the coefficient on either side.
Typically, the oxygen and hydrogen stoichiometric coefficients are assigned at the end.
The stoichiometric coefficient has to be multiplied by the total number of atoms of an element available in 1 molecule of the species to determine the number of atoms in one species.
Continue doing this until both the product and reactant sides have the same number of all the atoms of the reacting components.

Step 3: Now balance the given equation:

We know that the given equation is Fe + H2O → Fe3O4 + H2

Reactant side:

1 Iron atom
2 Hydrogen atoms
1 Oxygen atom

Product side:

3 Iron atoms
2 Hydrogen atoms
4 Oxygen atoms

The iron atoms are balanced first. After being balanced, the equation is: 3Fe + H2O → Fe3O4 + H2

Hence, the balanced equation is 3Fe + 4H2O → Fe3O4 + 4H2

Reactant side:

3 Iron atom
8 Hydrogen atoms
4 Oxygen atom

Product side:

3 Iron atoms
8 Hydrogen atoms
4 Oxygen atoms

The equation is balanced because there are an equal number of all the atoms of the reacting components on both the reactant and product sides. Hence the balanced equation is: 3Fe+4H2O→Fe3O4+4H2

Summary: