Balancing Chemical Equations

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 is a balanced chemical equation?

Back

A balanced chemical equation has equal numbers of each type of atom on both sides of the equation, following the law of conservation of mass.

Front

How do you determine the number of molecules needed to balance an equation?

Back

You adjust the coefficients in front of the reactants and products to ensure the same number of each type of atom is present on both sides.

Front

What is the purpose of balancing chemical equations?

Back

Balancing chemical equations ensures that the law of conservation of mass is upheld, meaning matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.

Front

What is the left side of a chemical equation called?

Back

The left side of a chemical equation is called the reactants.

Front

What is the right side of a chemical equation called?

Back

The right side of a chemical equation is called the products.

Front

What does the arrow in a chemical equation represent?

Back

The arrow in a chemical equation represents the direction of the reaction, indicating that reactants are transformed into products.

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

What is the significance of the subscripts in a chemical formula?

Back

Subscripts indicate the number of atoms of each element in a molecule; they are not changed when balancing equations.

Front

How do you balance the equation: Mg + O2 → MgO?

Back

You need 2 Mg and 1 O2 to produce 2 MgO, so the balanced equation is 2Mg + O2 → 2MgO.