Which of the following is the correctly balanced chemical equation for the reaction between sodium sulfate and barium chloride to form barium sulfate and sodium chloride?

• A. 2 Na2SO4 + BaCl2 → BaSO4 + 2 NaCl
• B. Na2SO4 + BaCl2 → BaSO4 + 2 NaCl
• C. Na2SO4 + BaCl2 → 2 BaSO4 + NaCl
• D. Na2SO4 + 2 BaCl2 → 2 BaSO4 + NaCl

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the reactants and products in the chemical reaction: sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) reacts with barium chloride (BaCl2) to form barium sulfate (BaSO4) and sodium chloride (NaCl).
2. Write the unbalanced chemical equation: \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4 + BaCl_2 \rightarrow BaSO_4 + NaCl}\).
3. Balance the barium (Ba) atoms: there is 1 Ba atom on both sides, so Ba is balanced.
4. Balance the sulfate (SO4) groups: there is 1 sulfate group on both sides, so sulfate is balanced.
5. Balance the sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) atoms: there are 2 Na atoms in Na2SO4 on the left, so place a coefficient of 2 before NaCl on the right to balance Na and Cl atoms, resulting in \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4 + BaCl_2 \rightarrow BaSO_4 + 2\ NaCl}\).