As chemistry help - balancing equations?

Question

Ok, so i understand how to balance equations, but i dont understand how you know which elements react with each other to form compounds, for example, NaHO + HNO3 ----> ? how do you know what compounds form?

Answer 1

NaOH + HNO3 --> NaNO3 + H2O

This OK for you ?

Answer 2

The particular example that you give is of an acid reacting with a base, which will always give a salt and water, so you simply take H2O out, and you're left with NaNO3, sodium nitrate.  There are a number of similar 'rules', such as that when an acid and metal react they give a salt and H2 gas (e.g. 2HCl + 2Na -> 2Nacl + H2), and a number of more complicated 'rules'.  But you need to learn those rules.  You also need to learn the reactivity series, and in thousands of cases, you simply need to learn (or look up) the reaction, or else do very complicated quantum mechanical calculations!

Answer 3

NaOH ( base) + HNO3 ( acid) >> NaNO3 ( salt) + H2O (water)

NaNO3 is Sodium nitrate