Can you use decimals when balancing chemical equations

Skip to content Home Physics What is the first step to balance this equation? Ben Davis June 14, What is the first step to balance this equation? Can you use Noninteger numbers for the coefficients in a balanced equation? Can you divide Equation 2 by another factor and still have it be correct? What is balanced in a balanced equation? Can you divide balanced equations? Having fractions or decimals as coefficients in a step to balancing an equation is acceptable, as long as the final answer has only whole number integers as coefficients.

If you do have any decimals, just multiply the entire equation by some number so that each stoichiometric coefficient is a whole number. Re: Balancing equations Post by Robert Tran 1B » Mon Sep 30, am Although other people would be able to understand the equation if there is a decimal or fraction in a balanced equation, it is not good scientific style. It is much easier to understand a ratio if all the numbers are written in whole numbers, so it is best to multiply the decimals and fractions by a factor that would make all of the coefficients whole numbers in the final answer.

Re: Balancing equations Post by Connor Ho 1B » Tue Oct 01, am Even though it may make sense mathematically to have decimals or fractions, for that matter for balancing equations, it is common practice and basically a requirement to always have whole numbers as the stoichiometric coefficients in a balanced chemical equation. Asked by: Martirian Kalachihin asked in category: General Last Updated: 30th April, Can you balance chemical equations with fractions? Now, the idea with using fractional coefficients to balance chemical equations is that you must make sure that you don't end up with fractions of atoms.

You cannot have 2. What are coefficients? In mathematics, a coefficient is a multiplicative factor in some term of a polynomial, a series, or any expression; it is usually a number, but may be any expression.

How do you balance equations? To balance a chemical equation, start by writing down the number of atoms in each element, which is listed in the subscript next to each atom.

Then, add coefficients to the atoms on each side of the equation to balance them with the same atoms on the other side. Why do we need to balance chemical equations?

You have to have the same amount of aluminums on both sides, and the same thing is true for the oxygens. Over here on the left-hand side, we have two oxygens. They form one dioxygen molecule that has two oxygen atoms. And then over here in the aluminum oxide molecule, we have three. We have three oxygen atoms. So once again, we can't just have miraculously an oxygen atom appear out of nowhere.

So we have to balance the number of aluminums on both sides, this number and this number should be the same, and we have to balance the number of oxygens, this number and that number should be the same. So how do we do that? Well one thing might be to say, "Okay, if I've got "two aluminums here and I have one aluminum here, "well why don't I just double the number "of aluminums right over here?

I now have two aluminums, and so it looks like the aluminums are balanced, and they are indeed balanced. But still we have an issue with the oxygens. Over here I have two oxygens.

Over here I have three oxygens. So one thing that you might say is, "Okay, well how do I go from two to three? So now I have three oxygen atoms on this side and three oxygen atoms on this side. But the convention is that we don't like writing "1. We want whole number molecules. So what can we do?