[mhg]

Can someone please help me, step by step, to solve this question?

"K4Fe(CN)6 + H2SO4 + H2O = K2SO4 + FeSO4 + (NH4)2SO4 + CO. The balancing numbers for the equation are:

A. 2, 6, 6, 2, 2, 3, 6
B. 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, 6, 6
C. 1, 6, 6, 2, 1, 3, 6
D. 1, 6, 6, 2, 2, 3, 6"

I seem to how a problem understanding how to find the right answer to this all by myself...  Right now I can't even think of how to begin solving it.

[Corribus]

In this particular example, you can simply take the brute force approached and see which of the four choices leads to a balanced equation. Are you able to do this much? (This won't help in a situation where you aren't given options to choose from, but first things first.)

[rjb]

Hi Mhg,

Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to balance the whole thing, especially under time constraints.

Instead, I'd begin by considering the number of potassium atoms... I have 4 on the left of the equation and 2 on the right. To balance, the 4th number must be twice the 1st number... This means only C and D are viable.

I'd then move on to Iron. Given that there is only 1 iron atom on the left (as defined from the previous step), the same must be true on the right i.e. the fifth number must be 1, meaning that C is the only viable option.

This is more of a logic puzzle than chemistry!

Kind Regards

R