1. Write the unbalanced equation:
* Aluminum (Al) reacts with copper(II) chloride (CuCl₂) to produce aluminum chloride (AlCl₃) and copper (Cu).
Al + CuCl₂ → AlCl₃ + Cu
2. Balance the equation:
* Aluminum (Al): There's one Al atom on each side, so it's balanced.
* Copper (Cu): There's one Cu atom on each side, so it's balanced.
* Chlorine (Cl): There are two Cl atoms on the left (in CuCl₂) and three Cl atoms on the right (in AlCl₃). To balance this, we need to adjust the coefficients.
2 Al + 3 CuCl₂ → 2 AlCl₃ + 3 Cu
The balanced equation for the single replacement reaction is:
2 Al + 3 CuCl₂ → 2 AlCl₃ + 3 Cu
