Balance the following reaction

Question

___N₂    +     ___O₂    =>    ___N₂O₅

Answer 1

If we're balancing to whole numbers, we have to make sure the right side oxygen is even so let's start by multiplying that by 2:

___N₂    +     ___O₂    =>    2 N₂O₅

From there, we end up with four nitrogen and 10 oxygen left on the right side. We balance that would by dividing both by 2 (since they are both diatomic on the left side) and get the answer below:

2 N₂    +     5 O₂    =>    2 N₂O₅

If fractions are allowed, you can leave the right side along and just solve each element on the left for their respective amount on the right side (2 N to 2 N and 2 O to 5 O):

1 N₂    +     5/2 O₂    =>    1 N₂O₅