Writing and Balancing Chemical Reactions

Question 1

What is a balanced equation?

Answer 1

A balanced equation is a recipe for the production of chemicals.
-The reactants are the ingredients.
-The products are the chemicals formed.
In chemical reactions, bonds are broken and formed. However, the atoms are not destroyed, they are only rearranged.
-The number of atoms if each element cannot change before and after a reaction has taken place.
-Chemical equations must be balanced.

Question 2

What are word equations?

Answer 2

Chemists use word equations to describe the many different chemical equations that can take place.

• Words equations describe the chemical change that has occurred.
• Word equation always are written in the same format.

Question 3

How do you write word chemical equations?

Answer 3

• They contain three parts: reactants, products and the arrow that separates them.
• All reactants are found on the left hand side of the equation. These are the substances that are reacted together.
• All products are on the right hand side of the equation. These are the new substances that are produced and have different properties that the substances that were reacted.
• An arrow points in the direction the reaction is going, from the reactants to the products.
• The arrow is read as produce or produces of forms.
• Each reactant is separated from another reactant by a + sign.
• Each product is separated from another product by a + sign.

Question 4

What is balancing equations?

Answer 4

• Antoine Lavoisier’s law of conservation of mass has led to some interesting concepts in chemistry.
• One major thing to consider is that the compounds in a chemical reaction have different numbers of the same atoms.
• You need the same number of each atom on each side.
• You can only change the number in front.

Question 5

What are the rules of balancing equations?

Answer 5

1. You need to have the same number of each atom either side of the arrow in the reaction.
2. You can only add coefficients to the front of each compound in the reaction(coefficients multiply each atom in the compound).

Question 6

How do you balance equations?

Answer 6

1. Predict the products.
2. Look for the most confusing looking compound in the chemical reaction.
3. Balance on of these atoms by adding a coefficient to the front of the compound.
4. By adding a coefficient you will also be multiplying the other ion in the compounds. Next add a coefficient to the compound on the other side of the arrow to balance it.
5. Follow the steps until all atoms are equal tin number on either side of the arrow.

Question 7

Tips for balancing equations.

Answer 7

1. If there is a base(OH) change the water to HOH first.
2. Pick an element an element(usually not H or O) on one side and balance other.
3. Move on to another and do the same.
4. Double check, sometimes you will have to go back and change numbers.
5. If you can only have even double the number.
6. For stats of ionic compounds in single and double replacement reactions check the table of solubility to determine if soluble(aq) or not (s)