How to balance an equation for the incomplete combustion of acetic acid?

AI Thread Summary
Balancing the complete combustion of acetic acid to carbon dioxide and water is straightforward by applying oxidation states, where hydrogen is +1, elemental oxygen is 0, and combined oxygen is -2. The key to balancing lies in managing the electron exchange between oxygen and carbon. However, when the products include both carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide along with water, the situation becomes more complex. This is because the oxidation processes to CO and CO2 are distinct reactions that can occur simultaneously, leading to a lack of unique stoichiometry. Consequently, there is no single set of coefficients that can balance the equation, resulting in an infinite number of possible sets. This complexity highlights the challenges in balancing reactions involving multiple products with different oxidation states.
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how to balance incomplete combustion of acetic acid equation
Balancing the complete combustion of acetic acid equation to carbon dioxide and water is straightforward if you remember hydrogen is always +1, elemental oxygen is zero and combined oxygen is always -2. just balance the exchange of electrons between oxygen and carbon. But how do you balance the equation when the product is carbon dioxide ,carbon monoxide, and water?
 
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You don't, oxidation to CO and oxidation to CO2 are two separate reactions. They can occur both at the same time, but then the process is not described by a unique stoichiometry (i.e. there is no single set of coefficients that balance the equation, more like infinite number of sets).

Compare https://www.chembuddy.com/balancing-stoichiometry-balancing-failure
 

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