Hi,
I wonder if anyone could help me. I'm a complete beginner in chemistry and am currently struggling to get my head around the fundamentals of balancing equations. I have just attempted to balance some equations given to me in an excersise in a book.
One of the equations I had to balance was: C8H18 + O2 = CO2 + H2O
I balanced this as C8H18 + 25 O2 = 8 CO2 + 9 H2O . However the answer in my excersise book was 2 C8H18 + 25 O2 = 16 CO2 + 18 H2O.
Is my answer wrong (because to me it seems balanced and I can't recognise where I made a mistake)? I can see that the latter end of the equation as answered in my exercise book (16 CO2 + 18 H2O) is just a doubled version of the answer I gave. If my answer is wrong I'm very confused about how to go about this correctly.
I apologise for my incompetence with this; I really am a beginner!
I'd be very appreciative of any help you may be able to offer.
Many thanks