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 along with their respective 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

What are reactants in a chemical equation?

Back

Reactants are the starting substances that undergo a chemical change in a reaction.

Front

What are products in a chemical equation?

Back

Products are the substances formed as a result of a chemical reaction.

Front

What is a coefficient in a chemical equation?

Back

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

Front

How do you determine the coefficients needed to balance an equation?

Back

To determine coefficients, adjust the numbers in front of the chemical formulas to ensure the same number of each type of atom appears on both sides of the equation.

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 subscript and a coefficient?

Back

A subscript indicates the number of atoms of an element in a molecule, while a coefficient indicates the number of molecules or moles of a substance.

Front

What is the first step in balancing a chemical equation?

Back

The first step in balancing a chemical equation is to write down the unbalanced equation and count the number of atoms of each element on both sides.

Front

What is the significance of the yield sign (→) in a chemical equation?

Back

The yield sign (→) indicates the direction of the reaction, separating reactants from products.