Balancing Equations and Chemical Reactions

Flashcards for key vocabulary related to balancing chemical equations and reactions.

Chemical Equation

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

Reactants

Substances present before a chemical reaction, located on the left side of a chemical equation.

Products

Substances generated as a result of a chemical reaction, located on the right side of a chemical equation.

Subscripts

Small numbers in a chemical formula indicating the number of atoms of each element in a molecule.

Law of Conservation of Mass

States that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.

Coefficients

Numbers placed in front of compounds in a chemical equation to indicate the number of molecules.

Balancing Equations

The process of ensuring that the number of atoms of each element is equal on both sides of a chemical equation.

Trial and Error Method

A method for balancing equations that involves testing different coefficients to achieve balance.

Chemical Reaction

A process that involves the rearrangement of atoms to form new substances.

LCM Trick

A method to find the least common multiple of the number of atoms of an element to balance a chemical equation.

Fraction Trick

A balancing technique where coefficients are expressed as fractions to achieve balance.