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Offline jennielynn_1980

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Cannot balance this to save my life
« on: July 07, 2006, 02:52:51 PM »
NH4 + HIO3 --> NH4I + H2O

ammonium + iodic acid --> ammonium iodide + water

I can balance equations no problem but this one is giving me grief.  Is there something about it that is making it difficult?  Can someone point me in the right direction?  I keep getting 10 hydrogen on the left  compared with 5 on the right but all else balances out.

Thanks :)

Offline Alberto_Kravina

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2006, 02:55:58 PM »
Quote
NH4 + HIO3 --> NH4I + H2O

ammonium + iodic acid --> ammonium iodide + water
That doesn't make sense: NH4 doesn't exist, it's an ion (NH4+), I think you mean ammonia (NH3)

Offline Dude

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2006, 03:04:52 PM »
Yes.  What Alberto said about ammonia.  Furthermore, there is no reason to suspect anything other than an acid base reaction between iodic acid and ammonia as NH3.  You are missing an anion if there is a reduction occurring.

Offline sdekivit

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2006, 03:07:30 PM »
this reaction is in all ways: weird.

Offline Donaldson Tan

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2006, 03:29:09 PM »
I doubt the product is an iodide. It should be an iodate.
"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

Offline constant thinker

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2006, 09:30:52 PM »
NH4+ exists. It's ammonium (not ammonia), so jennielynn_1980 got its name right.

I don't really get this reaction though. A cation + an acid?? There must be something else that's part of the ammonium or...

NH3 + HIO3 makes more sense to me.

How about:

NH3 + HIO3 --> NH4IO3

The product is ammonium iodate. In this case both Alberto_Kravina and geodome are right.

Were you given this equation as you showed us, jennielynn_1980?

By the way, balancing the equation I gave you is wicked easy.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2006, 09:38:47 PM by constant thinker »
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Offline Donaldson Tan

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2006, 08:59:16 AM »
When iodate oxidise a substance, the iodate is reduced to iodide. Unfortunately, iodate is not an oxidising agent powerful enough to oxidise ammonia. You may refer to the table of standard reduction potential for more information.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2006, 02:18:10 PM by geodome »
"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

Online billnotgatez

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2006, 10:17:10 AM »
Question
Should the original unbalanced formula left side be?

NH4+1 + OH-1 + HIO3

instead of  HIO3  can you use  HOIO2
« Last Edit: July 08, 2006, 10:24:37 AM by billnotgatez »

Offline jennielynn_1980

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2006, 01:46:24 PM »
I guess I have gotten some of the equation wrong.  The original question was to right equation for the neutralization reacting that resulted in the salt ammonium iodide.
I thought a neutralization would have to result from an acid and a base producing the salt ammonium iodide and water.  SO the right side of the equation should be correct if my assumption is correct meaning NH4I + H2O is right but the left side is screwy.

I think the base should be NH4OH instead of the NH4.  But what acid is it?  No matter what acid I think of, the equation doesn't balance.

Offline Borek

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2006, 01:54:15 PM »
Iodide or iodate? HI or HIO3?
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Offline jennielynn_1980

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #10 on: July 08, 2006, 02:11:43 PM »
Iodide


Does this work then?

NH4OH + HI --> NH4I + H2O

ammonium hydroxide + hydroiodic acid -->ammonium iodide + water

Offline Donaldson Tan

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #11 on: July 08, 2006, 02:26:11 PM »
I would rewrite NH4OH as NH3 + H2O because you are actually referring to aqueous ammonia.

NH3 + H2O <-> NH4+ + OH-

Since ammonia is a weak base, the position of the equilibrium above would be left and therefore there is significant proportion of ammonia in the aqueous medium than there is  NH4+. Hence, I will rewrite your neutralisation equation as:
NH3 + H2O + HI ->  NH4I + H2O

which simplifies to:
NH3 + HI ->  NH4I

"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

Offline jennielynn_1980

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Re: Cannot balance this to save my life
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2006, 02:57:14 PM »
I would rewrite NH4OH as NH3 + H2O because you are actually referring to aqueous ammonia.

NH3 + H2O <-> NH4+ + OH-

Since ammonia is a weak base, the position of the equilibrium above would be left and therefore there is significant proportion of ammonia in the aqueous medium than there is  NH4+. Hence, I will rewrite your neutralisation equation as:
NH3 + H2O + HI ->  NH4I + H2O

which simplifies to:
NH3 + HI ->  NH4I



Thanks :)  I haven't studied equilibrium yet so I wouldn't have known that.

Thanks to everyone for your help and patience!

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