How to Balance Chemical Equation for Oxygen
What is the equation for balancing the oxygen in the chemical equation Ca3(PO4)2 + H3PO4 → Ca(H2PO4)2?
To balance the chemical equation for oxygen in Ca3(PO4)2 + H3PO4 → Ca(H2PO4)2, the equation is 8X1 + 8x2 = 2X3.
Understanding Oxygen in the Chemical Equation
To balance the given chemical equation, let's first analyze the equation for oxygen (O):
On the left side of the equation, we have X1 Ca3(PO4)2 and x2 H3PO4, which contain oxygen. The calcium phosphate compound, Ca3(PO4)2, contains a total of 8 oxygen atoms (4 oxygen atoms from each phosphate group). The phosphoric acid, H3PO4, contains 4 oxygen atoms. So, on the left side, the total number of oxygen atoms is 8X1 (from Ca3(PO4)2) + 4x2 (from H3PO4) = 8X1 + 8x2.
On the right side of the equation, we have X3 Ca(H2PO4)2, which also contains oxygen. The calcium dihydrogen phosphate compound, Ca(H2PO4)2, contains a total of 2 oxygen atoms. So, on the right side, the total number of oxygen atoms is 2X3.
To balance the equation for oxygen, the total number of oxygen atoms on the left side should be equal to the total number of oxygen atoms on the right side.
Therefore, we can set up the equation: 8X1 + 8x2 = 2X3.