How would you balance the following equation: C3H8 + O2 --> CO3 + H20?

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Answer 1 · 2015-12-16T13:15:22

#color(blue)(2)C_3H_8+color(blue)(13)O_2 rarr color(blue)(6)CO_3+color(blue)(8)H_2O#

#color(blue)(n)C_3H_8 + color(blue)(m)O_2rarr color(blue)(p)CO_3+color(blue)(q)H_2O#

We are looking for minimal integer solutions for:

#3n=p#
#8n=2q#
#2m=3p+q#

We can try a few values for #n#
#n=1#

#3(1)=p# ...okay
#8(1)=2q rarr q=4# ...okay
#2m=3(3)+4# ...No; would require #m# to be a fraction

#n=2#

#3(2)=6=p# ...okay
#8(2)=2q rarr q=8# ...okay
#2m= 3(6)+8 rarr m= 13# ...okay

and we have our solution.