Question

What is the balanced chemical equation for the reaction between carbon monoxide, `CO`, and hydrogen gas, `H_2`, to make `CH_2OH`?

Answer 1

The balanced equation is:

`CO + 3/2H_2 -> CH_2OH`

Explanation:

The unbalanced equation is:

`CO + H_2 -> CH_2OH`

Since there is already one mole of carbon `(C)` and one mole of oxygen `(O)` on each side of the equation, we only need to balance hydrogen `(H)`. There are 2 moles on the left and 3 on the right. We can multiply the number of moles of `H_2` by `3/2`:

`CO + 3/2H_2 -> CH_2OH`

This is a correct, balanced chemical equation.

If fractional coefficients make you uncomfortable, though, it would be possible to multiply all coefficients by 2:

`2CO + 3H_2 -> 2CH_2OH`