Balancing Chemical Equations

Front

What is a balanced chemical equation?

Back

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

Front

What does the arrow (--> ) in a chemical equation represent?

Back

The arrow indicates that a chemical reaction has occurred, showing the direction of the reaction from reactants to products.

Front

What is the Law of Conservation of Mass?

Back

The Law of Conservation of Mass states that in a chemical reaction, the mass of the reactants must equal the mass of the products.

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.

Front

What is a reactant in a chemical reaction?

Back

A reactant is a substance that undergoes change during a chemical reaction.

Front

What is a product in a chemical reaction?

Back

A product is a substance that is formed as a result of a chemical reaction.

Front

If 5g of reactant A and 9g of product C are involved in a reaction A + B --> C, how much of reactant B is needed?

Back

4g of reactant B is needed.

Front

What does it mean if an equation is unbalanced?

Back

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

Front

What is the significance of subscripts in a chemical formula?

Back

Subscripts indicate the number of atoms of each element in a molecule.

Front

What is the difference between a coefficient and a subscript in a chemical equation?

Back

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