Flashcard Writing and Balancing Chemical Equations

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What is a chemical reaction?

Back

A process in which substances (reactants) are transformed into different substances (products) through the breaking and forming of chemical bonds.

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What are reactants in a chemical equation?

Back

The starting substances that undergo a chemical change in a reaction.

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What are products in a chemical equation?

Back

The substances that are formed as a result of a chemical reaction.

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What is a balanced chemical equation?

Back

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

Front

What is the law of conservation of mass?

Back

In a chemical reaction, mass is neither created nor destroyed; the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.

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What is a synthesis reaction?

Back

A type of chemical reaction where two or more simple substances combine to form a more complex product (e.g., A + B → AB).

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What is a decomposition reaction?

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A type of chemical reaction where a single compound breaks down into two or more simpler products (e.g., AB → A + B).

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What is a single displacement reaction?

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A type of chemical reaction where one element replaces another in a compound (e.g., A + BC → AC + B).

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What is a double displacement reaction?

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A type of chemical reaction where the anions and cations of two different compounds exchange places, forming two new compounds (e.g., AB + CD → AD + CB).

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What is combustion?

Back

A chemical reaction that occurs when a substance combines with oxygen, releasing energy in the form of light or heat (e.g., hydrocarbon + O2 → CO2 + H2O).