Balancing & Writing Equations Vocab

Reactants

starting materials in a reaction that undergo a chemical change to form a product

Products

a substance that is formed as a result of a chemical reaction

Subscript

tiny numbers set below an element’s symbol to indicate how many atoms are in the molecule

Coefficient

a whole number write in front of a chemical formula in a balanced chemical equation, indicating how many molecules or atoms of that substance are involved in the reaction

Mole

a unit of measurement that is the amount of a pure substance containing the same number of chemical units (1 mole = 6.022 x 10²³ molecules)

Mole ratio

the ratio between the amounts in moles of any two compounds involved in a balanced chemical reaction

Stoichiometry

the study of the amounts of reactants and products in chemical reactions (the study of chemical recipes)

Chemical Formula

expression of the composition or structure of chemical compounds

Chemical Equation

a representation of a chemical reaction with reactants and products

Law of Conservation of Mass

during a chemical reaction, the total mass of the products must be equal to the total mass of the reactants

Collision Theory

for a chemical reaction to occur, the reacting particles must collide with each other with sufficient kinetic energy and correct orientation