Notes: Chemical Equations

1. A chemical equation uses chemical formulas,

chemical symbols, and coefficients to describe a
reaction.

2. The starting materials in a chemical reaction are
reactants. The substances formed from a
reaction are products.

3. A chemical equation that has a wrong chemical
symbol or formula will not describe the reaction
correctly.
Changing the subscripts in the formula of a
compound changes the compound.





4. When writing a chemical equation, the total
number of atoms of each element in the
reactants must equal the total number of atoms
of that element in the products. This process is
called balancing the equation.

5. The law of conservation of mass states that
mass cannot be created or destroyed in
ordinary chemical and physical changes.

This law means that the total mass of the
reactants is the same as the total mass of the
products.

6. A coefficient is a number that is placed in
front of a chemical symbol or formula.

Coefficients are used to balance an equation.


7. For an equation to be balanced, all atoms must be
counted.

To count all the atoms in an equation, multiply the
subscript of each element in the formula by the
formulas coefficient.

To balance an equation, change the coefficients
not the subscripts.

8. Balance these equations:

H
2
+ N
2
NH
3

Sb + I
2
SbI
3


Fe + O
2
Fe
2
O
3

Al + CuSO
4
Al
2
(SO
4
)
3
+ Cu

Mg(OH)
2
+ HCl MgCl
2
+ H
2
O