Certainly! Let's work through the given reaction step by step.
The given chemical reaction is:
[tex]$
Fe + Cu(NO_3)_2 \rightarrow Cu + Fe(NO_3)_2
$[/tex]
Step 1: Write down the reactants and the products.
Reactants:
- Iron ([tex]\(Fe\)[/tex])
- Copper(II) nitrate ([tex]\(Cu(NO_3)_2\)[/tex])
Products:
- Copper ([tex]\(Cu\)[/tex])
- Iron(II) nitrate ([tex]\(Fe(NO_3)_2\)[/tex])
Step 2: Identify the type of reaction.
This reaction is a single displacement reaction, where iron ([tex]\(Fe\)[/tex]) displaces copper ([tex]\(Cu\)[/tex]) from its nitrate compound ([tex]\(Cu(NO_3)_2\)[/tex]).
Step 3: Analyze the reactivity.
Iron is more reactive than copper, which is why it can displace copper from the copper(II) nitrate.
Step 4: Balance the chemical equation.
Let's ensure the number of atoms of each element is equal on both sides of the equation:
- On the left side, we have:
- 1 Iron atom ([tex]\(Fe\)[/tex])
- 1 Copper atom ([tex]\(Cu\)[/tex])
- 2 Nitrate groups ([tex]\(NO_3\)[/tex])
- On the right side, we have:
- 1 Copper atom ([tex]\(Cu\)[/tex])
- 1 Iron atom ([tex]\(Fe\)[/tex])
- 2 Nitrate groups ([tex]\(NO_3\)[/tex])
As we see, the equation is already balanced because the number of atoms for each element is the same on both the reactant and product sides.
So, we derive the following balanced chemical equation:
[tex]$
Fe + Cu(NO_3)_2 \rightarrow Cu + Fe(NO_3)_2
$[/tex]
Step 5: Summarize the reaction.
In this reaction:
Iron ([tex]\(Fe\)[/tex]) reacts with copper(II) nitrate ([tex]\(Cu(NO_3)_2\)[/tex]) to produce copper ([tex]\(Cu\)[/tex]) and iron(II) nitrate ([tex]\(Fe(NO_3)_2\)[/tex]). No coefficients are necessary for this specific reaction, as it is already balanced.
Thus, the step-by-step process confirms the reaction as:
[tex]$
Fe + Cu(NO_3)_2 \rightarrow Cu + Fe(NO_3)_2
$[/tex]
