Balancing equations

Front

What is a chemical equation?

Back

A chemical equation is a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction, showing the reactants and products involved.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What are reactants in a chemical equation?

Back

Reactants are the starting substances in a chemical reaction, found on the left side of the equation.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What are products in a chemical equation?

Back

Products are the substances formed as a result of a chemical reaction, found on the right side of the equation.

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NGSS.MS-PS1-5

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 a subscript in a chemical formula?

Back

A subscript is a small number written after an element symbol that indicates the number of atoms of that element in a molecule.

Front

What does it mean to balance a chemical equation?

Back

Balancing a chemical equation means making sure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What is the Law of Conservation of Mass?

Back

The Law of Conservation of Mass states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

How do you balance the equation: H2 + O2 -> H2O?

Back

The balanced equation is 2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

What is the first step in balancing a chemical equation?

Back

The first step is to write down the number of atoms of each element present in the reactants and products.

Front

What does it mean if an equation is unbalanced?

Back

An unbalanced equation means that the number of atoms of at least one element is different on the reactant side compared to the product side.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS1-5