Balancing CH₄ + Cl₂ → CCl₄ + HCl Chemical Equation

Question

Balance the following chemical equation:  $ \square \text{CH}_4 + \square \text{Cl}_2 \rightarrow \square \text{CCl}_4 + \square \text{HCl} $ (Note: All reactants and products require a coefficient of at least one.)

Accepted Answer

1, 4, 1, 4 (i.e., $ 1\text{CH}_4 + 4\text{Cl}_2 \rightarrow 1\text{CCl}_4 + 4\text{HCl} $)

Answer

1. Analyze carbon (C) atoms: There is 1 C in $ \text{CH}_4 $ (reactant) and 1 C in $ \text{CCl}_4 $ (product). So the coefficient of $ \text{CH}_4 $ and $ \text{CCl}_4 $ for C is 1 (temporarily set as 1). 2. Analyze hydrogen (H) atoms: There are 4 H atoms in $ \text{CH}_4 $ (reactant). Each $ \text{HCl} $ (product) has 1 H atom, so the coefficient of $ \text{HCl} $ must be 4 to balance H (4 H on both sides). 3. Analyze chlorine (Cl) atoms: From $ \text{CCl}_4 $ (product, coefficient 1), there are 4 Cl atoms. From $ \text{HCl} $ (product, coefficient 4), there are 4×1 = 4 Cl atoms. Total Cl on the product side: 4 + 4 = 8. Each $ \text{Cl}_2 $ (reactant) has 2 Cl atoms, so the coefficient of $ \text{Cl}_2 $ is $ 8 \div 2 = 4 $ (to provide 8 Cl atoms). 4. Verify all elements: - C: 1 (reactant) = 1 (product) - H: 4 (reactant) = 4 (product, from 4 HCl) - Cl: 4×2 = 8 (reactant, from 4 Cl₂) = 4 (CCl₄) + 4 (HCl) = 8 (product). All elements are balanced.