PLEASE HELP

not balanced, oxygen, not equal

Explanation:

Alright, so let's go ahead and balance this equation!

The easiest way to do this is to take out a piece of paper and write down your elements on each side. Let's do it together:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 →  

Let's count the number of molecules for each element on both sides. Starting with the left side:

↓

The coefficient of 2 in front of NaOH will be distributed to Na, O, and H. The subscripts for H and O only apply to themselves, so S will have only one molecule. Then our molecule counts for the reactant side (the left side) will be:

↓

Na:  2

 O:  2+4 = 6

 H:  2+2 = 4

 S:   1

↓

Now, let's move on to the right side:

This side only has subscripts, no coefficients, so that means that any elements that don't have subscripts (S and the second O ) will have a count of one. Knowing this, our molecule count for the product side (right side) is:

↓

Na:  2

 O:  4+1 = 5

 H:  2

 S:   1

↓

Let's compare our counts now:

Left side:        Right side:

Na:  2             Na:  2

 O:  6               O:  5

 H:  4               H:  2

 S:   1                S:  1

We can see that our O and H molecule counts are different. So that means it's an unbalanced equation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Therefore, your answer will be:

The equation is not balanced because the number of hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms is not equal in the reactants and in the products.