Balancing Equations

Front

What is a chemical equation?

Back

A chemical equation is a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction, showing the reactants and products along with their quantities.

Front

What does it mean to balance a chemical equation?

Back

Balancing a chemical equation means ensuring that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

Front

Why is it important to balance chemical equations?

Back

It is important to balance chemical equations to obey the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.

Front

What are reactants in a chemical equation?

Back

Reactants are the starting substances in a chemical reaction, found on the left side of the equation.

Front

What are products in a chemical equation?

Back

Products are the substances formed as a result of a chemical reaction, found on the right side of the equation.

Front

What is the law of conservation of mass?

Back

The law of conservation of mass states that in a closed system, the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.

Front

What is a coefficient in a chemical equation?

Back

A coefficient is a number placed in front of a chemical formula in an equation to indicate how many molecules or moles of that substance are involved.

Front

What is a subscript in a chemical formula?

Back

A subscript is a small number written after an element symbol in a chemical formula that indicates the number of atoms of that element in a molecule.

Front

How do you determine if a chemical equation is balanced?

Back

A chemical equation is balanced if the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

Front

What is a skeleton equation?

Back

A skeleton equation is a chemical equation that shows the reactants and products but not the coefficients needed to balance it.