Write the unbalanced chemical equation
Count the atoms of each element on both sides
Add coefficients in front of formulas to balance one element at a time
Do not change subscripts in the formulas
Balance elements that appear in only one compound first
Leave hydrogen and oxygen for last if they appear in multiple compounds
Recount atoms after each change
Reduce coefficients to the smallest whole-number ratio
Verify that every element has the same number of atoms on both sides