Balancing Chemical Equations

Front

What is a balanced chemical equation?

Back

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 equation?

Back

Reactants are the substances that undergo a chemical change in a 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 the arrow (→) in a chemical equation represent?

Back

The arrow indicates the direction of the reaction, showing that reactants are transformed into products.

Front

What is the Law of Conservation of Mass?

Back

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

Front

How do you determine if a chemical equation is balanced?

Back

Count the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation; if they are equal, the equation is balanced.

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 indicates the number of atoms of an element in a molecule; for example, in H₂O, the '2' indicates there are two hydrogen atoms.

Front

What is the difference between an element and a compound?

Back

An element is a pure substance made of only one type of atom, while a compound is made of two or more different types of atoms chemically bonded together.

Front

What is an example of a balanced chemical equation?

Back

2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O is a balanced equation, as there are 4 hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms on both sides.