Chemical Equation: a shorthand description of a chemical reaction that shows the changes that take place during the reaction; tells the reactants and products and their ratios.
Reactant: each substance to the left of the arrow.
Product: each substance to the right of the arrow.
→: "yields" or "produces."
Precipitate: insoluble substance that crystallizes out of solution.
Insoluble: a substance unable to be dissolved.
Symbol: stand for an element.
Formula: shows the elements present in a compound and their ratio.
Basic Info
Chemists use a shorthand, just like secretaries do, to show changes that take place during a chemical reaction. This shorthand makes use of symbols and formulas and is called a chemical equation. A chemical equation represents a chemical reaction. Chemical reactions occur all around us. They can take years to react, or less than a second.
The Physical States of the Substances
The states of the substances in chemical reactions are indicated by specific symbols:
aqueous (aq)...aqueous means "in water"
How to Write a Chemical Equation for Reactions
1. Look at the word equation for the reaction (if there is one), and identify the chemical symbols for each element/polyatonic ion.
2. Write the states of the reactants right after the element/compound in paranthesis.
3. Combine the reactants together by using + when the word equation says "plus."
4. Write → when the word equation says "produces" or "yields."
5. Combine the products together the same way as the reactants. Write this after the →.
6. After you have written the chemical equation, go back and check that the word equation and your chemical equation match.
Example
1. Silver nitrate plus sodium chloride produces silver chloride plus sodium nitrate.
2. AgNO3 + NaCl → AgCl + NaNO3
3. AgNO3(aq), NaCl(aq), AgCl(cr), NaNO3(aq).
4. AgNO3(aq) + NaCl(aq) → AgCl(cr) + NaNO3(aq)
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By alice
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