STEM Week 10 Balancing Chemical Reactions and Atoms

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What is a balanced chemical equation?

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A balanced chemical equation has the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation, indicating that mass is conserved during the reaction.

Front

What are reactants in a chemical reaction?

Back

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

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What are products in a chemical reaction?

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

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How do you determine the number of atoms in a compound?

Back

Count the subscripts in the chemical formula; for example, in C6H12O6, there are 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and 6 oxygen atoms.

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What is the law of conservation of mass?

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The law of conservation of mass states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.

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What does it mean to balance a chemical equation?

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Balancing a chemical equation means adjusting the coefficients in front of compounds to ensure that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides.

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What is a coefficient in a chemical equation?

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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.

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What is a subscript in a chemical formula?

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

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What is the significance of the arrow in a chemical equation?

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The arrow in a chemical equation indicates the direction of the reaction, separating reactants from products.

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What is the difference between an endothermic and exothermic reaction?

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An endothermic reaction absorbs energy (heat) from the surroundings, while an exothermic reaction releases energy (heat) to the surroundings.