equations

what can masses of reactants and products be calculated by?

a balanced symbol equation

what can chemical equations be interpreted in?

terms of moles

what must be the same on both sides of the equation?

total moles of one element

how do you use moles to balance equations? (2 steps)

1. convert masses in grams to amounts in moles
2. convert number of moles to simple whole number ratios

what are limiting reactants?

the reactant which is used up / not in excess

what happens if you use a limiting reactant?

the amount of product produced is restricted to the amount of excess reactant that reacts with the limiting one