How do you balance the following reaction: #?C_6H_6 + ?O_2 -> ?CO_2 + ?H_2O#

The issue that may come up when attempting to balance a combustion equation is that, although oxygen gas supplies O atoms in pairs, water only has one. The "trick" to solving the problem is to ensure that the coefficient of water is even, even if this means you don't begin with the standard method of starting with a "1" in front of a compound.

To balance the chemical equation C₆H₆ + O₂ -> CO₂ + H₂O:

C₆H₆ + 15/2 O₂ -> 6 CO₂ + 3 H₂O

To balance the chemical equation (C_6H_6 + O_2 \rightarrow CO_2 + H_2O), you need to follow these steps:

1. Count the number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation.
2. Start by balancing the elements that appear only once on each side of the equation.
3. Balance the elements that appear more than once on either side of the equation.
4. Check to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

Applying these steps:

C: 6 on the left, 1 in CO2 on the right. Balance carbon by putting a coefficient of 6 in front of CO2.

H: 6 on the left, 2 in H2O on the right. Balance hydrogen by putting a coefficient of 3 in front of H2O.

O: 2 on the left (from O2), 2(2) + 6(1) = 10 on the right (from CO2 and H2O). Balance oxygen by putting a coefficient of 5 in front of O2.

The balanced equation is: (C_6H_6 + 15O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 3H_2O).