Chemical Reactions and Equations

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture on chemical reactions and equations, including definitions, processes, and rules for balancing equations.

What is a chemical equation?

A representation of a chemical reaction showing the formulas of the reactants and products.

What are reactants?

Substances that undergo a chemical change, represented on the left side of a chemical equation.

What are products?

Substances formed as a result of a chemical reaction, represented on the right side of a chemical equation.

What is a skeleton equation?

A chemical equation that does not indicate the relative amounts of the reactants and products.

How do you indicate the physical states of substances in a chemical equation?

Use (s) for solids, (l) for liquids, (g) for gases, and (aq) for aqueous solutions.

What symbol is used to indicate a catalyst in a chemical reaction?

The formula of the catalyst is written above the arrow in the equation.

What is a coefficient in a chemical equation?

A small whole number placed in front of the formulas to balance the equation and indicate the number of components.

What does a balanced chemical equation signify?

That mass is conserved; each side of the equation has the same number of atoms of each element.

What steps are involved in balancing a chemical equation?

1) Write the skeleton equation, 2) Count atoms on each side, 3) Add coefficients as necessary, 4) Count polyatomic ions as one item, 5) Balance one element at a time.

Why should you never change the subscripts in a chemical formula?

Changing subscripts alters the actual compounds represented by the formula.