Balancing chemical equations can feel like a puzzle—and if approached the right way, you can turn it into something fun for your students.
As a student I had this “dramatic” strategy for balancing chemical equations (or so said my lab partner…) Over the years of teaching, I’ve found this strategy helped ALL of my students to make balancing equations so simple that I made it my staple way to teach balancing. By breaking down the process into clear, manageable steps and incorporating engaging practice, students build confidence and even look forward to the challenge. Yes, you read that right!
My Step-by-Step Approach to Teaching Balancing Equations
Balancing chemical equations is often overwhelming for students because they need to keep track of so many elements at once. To make it manageable, I break the process into a clear set of steps:
- Split the Reaction into “Before” and “After”: That’s what it is, right? The pieces break apart and get rebuilt in a new way. When we write out a chemical equation on the board in my classroom, we ALWAYS split it with two vertical lines. One on each side of the yield arrow. This simple framework helps them see the difference between the reactants and products.
- List the Elements: Next, we list all the elements involved in the reaction between those two vertical lines. This may sound basic, but it’s a crucial step. Listing the elements makes sure nothing gets forgotten, and students can refer back to this list throughout the problem.
- Count the Atoms on Each Side: Once the elements are listed, we count how many atoms of each element are present on both sides of the equation.
- Multiply to Balance: “If you can do your times tables, you can balance equations.” The question you need to ask yourself is “how can I make 2 & 3 the same number by multiplying them?” “How can I get 1 & 3 to become the same number using multiplication?” Students at this point know they are only allowed adjust coefficients, and this little multiplication conversation helps them to see that.
Through this structured approach, students learn that balancing equations is systematic, and they learn to love it.. They can follow these steps every time and avoid the frustration of guessing or relying on trial and error.
Practice Makes Perfect—And Fun!
Once students understand the steps, practice is essential. But we all know that worksheets can get boring quickly. That’s where I start to bring in some of my fun balancing activities.
Balancing Chemical Equations Pixel Art
If you’re looking for a fun and self-grading way for students to practice balancing chemical equations, my Balancing Equations Pixel Art activity is a great option. This Google Sheets activity allows students to input the coefficients for each equation. The sheet instantly tells them whether their answer is correct or incorrect. Each correct answer reveals a small portion of a secret picture, keeping students motivated to work through the entire set of equations. When they complete the activity with 100% accuracy, they get to see the full image!
This activity is perfect for independent practice, review, or studying for a test because students can erase their answers and redo the work as many times as they need. Teachers love it because it’s self-grading—no extra work on your part! Whether used in class or as extra practice at home, it’s an engaging way to help students master balancing equations.
The Balancing Escape Room: Turning Practice into a Game
To get students REALLY excited about balancing equations, I designed a Balancing Equations Escape Room Activity using Google Forms. This digital activity transforms the typical practice session into a fun, interactive challenge. Here’s how it works:
- Locked Out: Students must correctly answer the question presented to them in order to move on. That’s what makes it an escape room!
- Puzzles and Clues: The escape room is filled with a series of coded questions students need to solve. There’s an emoji “spell it out” where emojis ask the students for the coefficient of a specific compound from the balanced equation. There’s also some Morse codes, a Pig Pen Cipher and some mazes. Once the questions are uncovered, students balance chemical equations to get answers to these coded questions. Sometimes, they need to hunt for clues hidden around the classroom. Which makes the escape room all the more fun.
- Real-time Feedback: The great thing about using Google Forms is that it provides immediate feedback. If students enter the wrong answer, they get a prompt to try again, which keeps them engaged without getting frustrated.
- Collaboration and Competition: This activity works especially well in small groups (I like two or three), where students collaborate to uncover the questions. They can each balance the equation. Just in case they input a wrong answer, they have a few brains working on the answer. You can also add a competitive element by setting a time limit or offering a reward for the first group to “escape.”
Why I love it
What I love most about this balancing chemical equations activity is that students don’t even realize how much they’re practicing. They’re so focused on “escaping” that they become fully immersed in balancing equations, without feeling like it’s just another drill. And I mean, it can sometimes be tough to get students to care about chemistry. Let alone something as boring as balancing equations.
Why You Should A Balancing Equations Activity
Any time you turn boring practice into something more fun, your students are going to learn without even realizing they’re learning. (Because they’re smiling and there’s no way to smile in chemistry, right?) And if you ask me, especially with the ability to learn anything in the digital age it’s important that we entertain our students. I know that’s a really hot take. But if we want to beat YouTube and AI in education, we’re going to have to offer something different.
Yes, our expertise is helpful. Yes, the ability to ask questions, have them answered and be encouraged is something the internet can’t (at least yet) provide to students. Learning, more and more, needs to become an experience in order to be effective. And the worst thing that happens is that your students don’t become A+ chemistry students. But still had a good time in your classroom. And what could possibly be wrong with that?
