Question

Write a balanced chemical equation for the followed:
Flowers of sulphur boiled with calcium hydroxide

Answer 1

Hint: We know that, chemical equation is the representation of a chemical reaction using the chemical symbols of reactants and products. There are many types of chemical equations such as word equations, skeletal equations and balanced chemical equations.

Complete step by step answer:
Let’s understand the skeletal equation and balanced chemical equation in detail.
Skeletal equation uses the chemical formulas to indicate the reactants and products rather than words (chemical name).
Balanced chemical equation is the equation in which the number of atoms of all elements is equal in both reactant and product side of reaction. This equation also uses chemical formulas to represent products and reactants.
Here, we have to write the chemical equation (balanced) of the reaction of flowers of sulphur and calcium hydroxide.
Flower of sulphur is a yellow colored fine powder of sulphur manufactured by the process of sublimation and deposition. So, the chemical symbol of the flower of sulphur is S.
Another reactant is calcium hydroxide. The chemical formula of calcium hydroxide is ${\rm{Ca}}{\left( {{\rm{OH}}} \right)_2}$. First we write the skeletal equation of reaction of sulphur and calcium hydroxide. The reaction produces calcium polysulphide $\left( {{\rm{Ca}}{{\rm{S}}_{\rm{5}}}} \right)$, calcium thiosulfate $\left( {{\rm{Ca}}{{\rm{S}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{3}}}} \right)$ and water.
${\rm{Ca}}{\left( {{\rm{OH}}} \right)_{\rm{2}}} + {\rm{S}} \to {\rm{Ca}}{{\rm{S}}_{\rm{5}}} + {\rm{Ca}}{{\rm{S}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{3}}} + {{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{O}}$
The above reaction is not balanced. The equation is balanced by adding coefficient to the reactants and products. So, the balanced chemical equation is,
${\rm{3Ca}}{\left( {{\rm{OH}}} \right)_{\rm{2}}} + 12{\rm{S}} \to 2{\rm{Ca}}{{\rm{S}}_{\rm{5}}} + {\rm{Ca}}{{\rm{S}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{3}}} + 3{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{O}}$

Note:
Remember that the law of conservation of mass states that matter is neither created nor destroyed. Balanced chemical equation obeys the law of conservation of mass as the number of atoms in product side and reactant side is equal.