balance the following equation

Question

C₆H₁₂O_{6--------------}CO2+H₂O

Answer 1

First, the equation should have O2 on the left-hand side. If you already know photosynthesis, the question will require you to know this. But, if you are seeing this type of reaction first time, they should include O2 in the question.

Lets do this quickly.

1. Check how the elements (C, H, and O) are distributed among the compounds (C6H12O6, CO2, and H2O)

Left hand side- C, H, and O elements are appearing on one C2H12O6 entity.

Right hand side- C and H are only appearing on CO2 and H2O respectively, but O is appearing on both CO2 and H2O.

So, we try to balance C and H, first.

2. Check the number of elements (C and H) appearing on both sides.

For Carbon,

Left hand side- 6C

Right hand side- 1C

               So we can add factor 6 in front of CO2.

For Hydrogen, H,

Left hand side- 12H

Right hand side- 2H

               So, we can add factor 6 in front of H2O to bring total H in the right hand side to 12.

Now we have

 C6H12O6 + O2   ->    6 CO2 + 6 H2O

3. Now what left is the Oxygen (O).

Left hand side- 6

Right hand side- (6 x 2) + (6 x 1)= 18

               We need to account (18-6) 12O in the left hand side. We cannot do anything to the C6H12O6 now, since it is going to affect the already balanced C and H. So, we can add a factor to the O2 since it stands alone. The factor is (12/2) 6.

Now we have our final answer, since it is balanced and we cannot simplify it further.

C6H12O6 + 6 O2   ->    6 CO2 + 6 H2O

Answer 2

"C₆H₁₂O_{6--------------}CO2+H₂O"

I believe something is missing in this, very common and well known chemical reaction. There must be O₂ gas on the reactant side as well as this is Photosynthesis.

Plants consume water (H₂O), carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) and light energy to synthesize glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) and oxygen gas (O₂) by the following unbalanced chemical reaction:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O

It's worthy of note: this reaction is typically written in reverse to the above description because in this form, it is seen more generally as a complete oxidation of the organic compound, glucose, and converted to ATP for the plant's energy.

We start by recognizing the obvious difference in the number of specific atoms that only appear in one compound or the other, namely carbon and hydrogen in this case. We need a 6 coefficient in front of CO₂ and a 6 coefficient in front of H₂O to balance the number of carbons and hydrogen from both sides:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O

Then, we count up how many oxygen atoms this now creates on the right side and match it with a coefficient to the left side.

6x2 + 6 = 18 oxygen atoms on the right. We do not want to place a coefficient in front of the glucose as that would produce more hydrogen and carbon to balance again.

We take notice of the O₂ and decide what coefficient would be placed there to produce a total of 18 oxygen atoms on the left as well. Glucose already has 6 so we just need 12 more. The only option would be to place a 6 in front of O₂ and this reaction will be fully balanced.



C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O