Balance the equation: Fe + H2SO4 -> FeSO4 + H2. What are the coefficients for Fe, H2SO4, FeSO4, and H2?

• A. 1, 1, 1, 1
• B. 2, 1, 2, 1
• C. 1, 2, 1, 2
• D. 1, 1, 2, 2

Answer: (A)

Balancing a chemical equation requires that the same number of each type of atom appears on both sides. Here, iron metal reacts with sulfuric acid to form iron(II) sulfate and hydrogen gas. Check each element: iron appears once on the left and once in FeSO4 on the right; sulfur appears once in H2SO4 and once in FeSO4; oxygen appears four times in H2SO4 and four times in FeSO4; hydrogen appears two times in H2SO4 and two times in H2. All counts match when all coefficients are 1, so the balanced equation is Fe + H2SO4 -> FeSO4 + H2 with coefficients 1, 1, 1, 1. This is the simplest whole-number ratio; multiplying all coefficients by a common factor would still balance the equation but isn’t necessary.