[Bucephalus]

hi

I'm learning chemistry. I'm not a school student, but I'm sure this is a school level question, so I'm posting here. I'm looking at these reactions that take two reactants and result in one product only, forming alkali or acid. This particular acid one I cannot work out or balance. I just don't know enough yet to "see". can someone help me out please.

NO₂ + H₂O 

I try HNO₃ but I just cannot get it to balance.
Can anyone help me please?
And how does one know what the product will be? Is this just a matter of learning about the reactions and what reactants will get what? i.e. will I just have to have patience to know through experience? Or is there some way of knowing.

David.

[Borek]

NO₂ + H₂O 

I try HNO₃ but I just cannot get it to balance.

Some reaction equations won't balance - that also means they can't proceed in reality.

http://www.chembuddy.com/?left=balancing-stoichiometry&right=balancing-reactions

And how does one know what the product will be? Is this just a matter of learning about the reactions and what reactants will get what? i.e. will I just have to have patience to know through experience? Or is there some way of knowing.

There is no simple way of knowing, the more you learn, the easier predicting reaction products becomes. But even when you are quite efficient you can be surprised by what is happening in the glass. That's the beauty of chemistry

[cliverlong]

<< snip >>

 I'm looking at these reactions that take two reactants and result in one product only, forming alkali or acid.

Therein may lie your probolem, not just one product

This particular acid one I cannot work out or balance. I just don't know enough yet to "see". can someone help me out please.

NO₂ + H₂O 

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide#Preparation_and_reactions
says the following
It (nitrogen dioxide) hydrolyzes with disproportionation to give nitric acid:

    3 NO₂ + H₂O → NO + 2 HNO₃

This reaction is one step in the Ostwald process for the industrial production of nitric acid from ammonia.

And how does one know what the product will be? Is this just a matter of learning about the reactions and what reactants will get what? i.e. will I just have to have patience to know through experience? Or is there some way of knowing.

David.

Study chemistry. There are patterns and principles. There will always be surprises and exceptions. That is why people can spend a life-time studying a seemingly small area of chemistry. But there is no short-route