Balancing Chemical Equations

Front

What is a chemical equation?

Back

A chemical equation is a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction, showing the reactants and products involved.

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 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

What is a coefficient in a chemical equation?

Back

A coefficient is a number placed in front of a compound in a chemical equation to indicate how many molecules or moles of that compound 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, indicating the number of atoms of that element in a molecule.

Front

How do you balance the equation: _Zn + _HCl → _ZnCl₂ + _H₂?

Back

The balanced equation is 1Zn + 2HCl → 1ZnCl₂ + 1H₂.

Front

How do you balance the equation: _Al + _HCl → _H₂ + _AlCl₃?

Back

The balanced equation is 2Al + 6HCl → 3H₂ + 2AlCl₃.

Front

What is the law of conservation of mass?

Back

The law of conservation of mass states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction; the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.

Front

What is the difference between a balanced and unbalanced equation?

Back

A balanced equation has equal numbers of each type of atom on both sides, while an unbalanced equation does not.