sodium metal reacts with water to form aqueous sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. which equation below best…

sodium metal reacts with water to form aqueous sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. which equation below best describes the balanced equation for this reaction?\n$ce{s + h_{2}o -> soh (aq) + h (g)}$\n$ce{2 na + 2h_{2}o -> 2 naoh (aq) + h_{2} (g)}$\n$ce{na + h_{2}o -> naoh (aq) + h_{2}(g)}$\n$ce{2 na + h_{2}o -> na_{2}oh (aq) + h (g)}$

sodium metal reacts with water to form aqueous sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. which equation below best describes the balanced equation for this reaction?\n$ce{s + h_{2}o -> soh (aq) + h (g)}$\n$ce{2 na + 2h_{2}o -> 2 naoh (aq) + h_{2} (g)}$\n$ce{na + h_{2}o -> naoh (aq) + h_{2}(g)}$\n$ce{2 na + h_{2}o -> na_{2}oh (aq) + h (g)}$

Answer

Brief Explanations:

  1. First, confirm the correct reactants and products: Sodium (Na) reacts with water ($H_2O$) to form aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrogen gas ($H_2$). This eliminates options with incorrect chemical formulas (like S instead of Na, or $SOH$, $Na_2OH$).
  2. Next, check for a balanced chemical equation: the number of each type of atom must be equal on both the reactant and product sides.
    • For the equation $Na + H_2O \rightarrow NaOH(aq) + H_2(g)$: There are 2 H atoms on the left, but 3 H atoms on the right, so it is unbalanced.
    • For the equation $2Na + 2H_2O \rightarrow 2NaOH(aq) + H_2(g)$:
      • Na: 2 on left, 2 on right
      • H: 4 on left ($2\times2$), 4 on right ($2\times1 + 2$)
      • O: 2 on left, 2 on right This equation has correct chemical formulas and is fully balanced.

Answer:

$\boldsymbol{2 Na + 2H_2O \rightarrow 2 NaOH (aq) + H_2 (g)}$