βοΈ Chemical Equation Balancer
Enter your unbalanced equation and get it balanced automatically.
Use "->" to separate reactants from products. Use "+" to separate compounds. Parentheses supported: Ca(OH)2
Try these examples:
How to Use This Calculator
Type your unbalanced equation in the input box and click Balance. Use "->" to separate reactants from products, and "+" to separate compounds on each side. The balancer handles multi-element compounds and parentheses. Element symbols must be capitalised correctly (H not h, Ca not ca).
Type the unbalanced equation. For example: Fe + O2 -> Fe2O3. You do not need to add coefficients; the tool finds them for you.
Use "->" between reactants and products. Use "+" between separate compounds. Parentheses work for polyatomic groups: Ca(OH)2, Al2(SO4)3.
Click Balance. The output shows the balanced equation and lists the coefficient for each compound.
Verify the result by counting atoms on each side. The atom counts shown in the coefficient list should confirm that every element is balanced.
The Balancing Principle
Coefficients are placed in front of each formula to make the total atom count identical on both sides. You can change coefficients but never subscripts (changing subscripts would change the compound itself). The balancer finds the smallest set of whole-number coefficients that satisfies the conservation constraint for every element simultaneously.
Common Balanced Equations
Where This Calculation Comes Up
Balancing equations is the foundation of stoichiometry. Before you can calculate how many grams of product form from a given mass of reactant, you need to know the mole ratio from the balanced equation. In a combustion analysis, the ratio of COβ and HβO produced tells you the empirical formula of the fuel, but only if you first know the balanced equation for each possible combustion reaction.
In industrial chemistry, yield calculations for processes like the Haber synthesis (Nβ + 3Hβ β 2NHβ) depend directly on the stoichiometric coefficients. Producing 1 tonne of ammonia requires exactly 0.176 tonnes of Hβ and 0.824 tonnes of Nβ based on those coefficients and the molar masses involved. Getting the balance wrong means your mass calculations are off, your reagent orders are wrong, and your costs are miscalculated. On a lab exam, the same principle applies at the milligram scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the equation balancer work?
It uses a matrix algebraic method: sets up a system of linear equations based on atom counts, then uses row reduction (Gaussian elimination) to find the smallest integer coefficients.
What format should I use for input?
Separate reactants from products with "->". Separate compounds with "+". Example: H2 + O2 -> H2O
What if there are multiple correct answers?
The balancer finds the simplest set of integer coefficients (smallest whole numbers).
Can it balance ionic equations?
This balancer handles molecular formulas. For full ionic equations with charges, you'd also need to balance charges separately.
Why do equations need to be balanced?
Balanced equations obey the law of conservation of mass β atoms cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.