Balancing equations

Front

What is a balanced equation?

Back

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

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What are coefficients in a chemical equation?

Back

Coefficients are the numbers placed in front of compounds in a chemical equation to indicate how many molecules or moles of that substance are involved in the reaction.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What is a reactant?

Back

A reactant is a substance that undergoes a chemical change in a reaction, found on the left side of a chemical equation.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Front

What is a product?

Back

A product is a substance that is formed as a result of a chemical reaction, found on the right side of a chemical equation.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Front

What is the purpose of balancing chemical equations?

Back

The purpose is to ensure that the law of conservation of mass is followed, meaning that the same number of atoms of each element must be present before and after the reaction.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What does it mean if an equation is unbalanced?

Back

An unbalanced equation does not have the same number of each type of atom on both sides, indicating that mass is not conserved.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What is a subscript in a chemical formula?

Back

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

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.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What is the first step in balancing a chemical equation?

Back

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

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

Front

What is the difference between a coefficient and a subscript?

Back

A coefficient indicates the number of molecules, while a subscript indicates the number of atoms in a molecule.