Iron reacts with chlorine gas, ##Cl_2##, to form iron(III) Chloride, ##FeCl_3##. How do you write the balanced equation for this synthesis reactions?

Simply write the equation and then check if number of atoms of an element present in RHS = LHS.

The equation for this synthesis reaction is :

## Fe + Cl_2 = FeCl_3##

Now as we can observe, ##Fe## is balanced, but ##Cl## is not.

1. Balancing ##Cl## :

2. Since we want the least number to be multiplied on both sides to balance the equation, we take LCM of 2 and 3 which is 6

3. Multiply RHS ##Cl## by 3 and LHS ##Cl## by 2

The reulting equation becomes:

## Fe + 3Cl_2 = 2FeCl_3##

1. Balancing ##Fe## :

2. Now, the LHS has 1 ##Fe## and the RHS has 2 ##Fe## atoms.

3. Multiply RHS ##Fe## by 2

The final balanced equation is as follows:

##2Fe + 3Cl_2 = 2FeCl_3##

Hope this helps :)

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