When solid copper is added to nitric acid, copper(II) nitrate, nitrogen dioxide, and water are p

When solid copper is added to nitric acid, copper(II)...

Key Concepts

Conservation of Mass

The conservation of mass is a fundamental principle stating that the total mass of the reactants in a chemical reaction must equal the total mass of the products. This concept underlies the necessity for balancing equations in chemical reactions.

Redox Reactions

Redox reactions, or oxidation-reduction reactions, involve the transfer of electrons between reactants, where one species is oxidized and another is reduced. Although the focus may be on balancing and mole ratios, understanding redox processes is important when the reaction involves electron transfer, affecting how the reaction is balanced overall.

Mole Ratios

Mole ratios are derived from the coefficients of the balanced chemical equation. They express the proportion in which reactants combine and products form on a molecular level. These ratios are used to convert the moles of one substance in the reaction to the moles of another, thereby linking the quantities of all substances involved.

Chemical Equations

A chemical equation is a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction where the reactants are written on the left side and the products on the right side. It displays the substances involved and the physical states of these materials involved in the transformation.

Balancing Chemical Equations

Balancing equations involves adjusting the coefficients of reactants and products so that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides of the equation. This process is essential because it reflects the conservation of mass, ensuring that matter is neither created nor destroyed during a reaction.

Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is the study of the quantitative relationships between the amounts of reactants and products in a chemical reaction. It uses the coefficients from the balanced chemical equation to calculate how much of each substance is involved, making it a critical tool for predicting yields and converting between moles, mass, and volume.

Transcript

00:01 In this problem, we need to balance the equation for the reaction between copper and nitric asset, which produces copper to nitrate, nitrogen dioxide, and water.

00:37 Okay? so the best way to balance this reaction is using the redox balancing method.

00:47 Okay, the real equation balancing method.

00:52 Why? because you immediately realize that copper transitions from an oxidation state of zero to an oxidation state of positive two.

01:05 So that would be our first half reaction, the oxidation of copper, from copper zero to copper positive two, which is the ion here.

01:22 Now we balance the charges.

01:25 We have two electrons here.

01:28 Zero net charge on the reactant.

01:30 Zero net charge net charge.

01:32 Now a reduction, a reduction, half reaction, which is the reduction of nitrate.

01:45 And you're going to find nitrate on this side, two nitrates here, and then nitrogen dioxide.

01:58 So we have nitrate getting converted to nitrate itself.

02:06 So some nitrate does not change and some nitrate is reduced to nitrogen dioxide.

02:16 Okay, so first let's balance the nitrogen.

02:21 We have two nitrogen's here and only one here.

02:26 So we place a two here.

02:27 No, sorry, we have two nitrogens here.

02:29 Plus one, three nitrogen.

02:33 So we place a three, equation of three here.

02:37 Now, this is a reaction that takes place in an acidic environment given by nitric acid.

02:44 Therefore, we balance oxygens and hydrogens with water and hydrogen ions.

02:52 Okay, so let's first balance oxygens.

02:56 We have nine oxygens on the reactant and then six plus two, eight oxygens on the product.

03:07 So we need a molecule of water here to balance oxygen...

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