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An analysis of the algebraic method of balancing chemical reactions is presented. A new aspect of this treatment is the mathematical formulation of a third condition involving a balance between oxidation and reduction. The treatment begins with the three general conditions that a balanced chemical reaction must satisfy. These conditions are then expressed in mathematical form that enables the stoichiometric coefficients to be determined. The mathematical form is in terms of linear algebraic equations involving the unknown stoichiometric coefficients. The overall strategy is to generate as many algebraic equations as possible from the three conditions which in most cases generates a linear dependent (i. e. over complete) set of equations. It is shown that the atom balance condition generates as many equations as there are elements in the reaction, the charge balance generates one equation and that the oxidation reduction balance generates at most six equations.
This over complete set of equations is an advantage in that not all equations (hopefully the more complicated ones) are needed to solve the problem. The oxidation reduction balance is based on assigning oxidation numbers so that this procedure is most useful for reactions where this can be done.
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