2 Fe + O2 → Fe2O3Explain whether this chemical equation is balanced or unbalanced.

To determine whether the chemical equation $2 \, \text{Fe} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$ is balanced, we need to:

1. Count the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation.

   • Reactants:

     • Iron (Fe): 2 atoms
     • Oxygen (O): 2 atoms

   • Products:

     • Iron (Fe): 2 atoms (from $\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$)
     • Oxygen (O): 3 atoms (from $\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$)

2. Compare the number of atoms of each element.

   • In the reactants, we have:

     • 2 Iron (Fe)
     • 2 Oxygen (O)

   • In the products, we have:

     • 2 Iron (Fe)
     • 3 Oxygen (O)

3. Analysis of the balance:

   • The number of Iron atoms is balanced (2 on both sides).
   • The number of Oxygen atoms is unbalanced (2 on the reactants side vs. 3 on the products side).

4. Conclusion:

   • Since the number of atoms for oxygen is not equal on both sides, the equation is unbalanced.

Final Answer

The chemical equation $2 \, \text{Fe} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$ is unbalanced.