3.16 Chemical Equations
3.16 Chemical Equations
- Describe the general form of a chemical equation.
- Show how to write a simple chemical equation.
- Explain what it means for a chemical equation to be balanced.
Look at this rusty bike. It has been left outside in damp weather too many times, so the iron in the metal parts has
rusted. Iron rusts when it combines with oxygen in the air. Iron rusting is an example of a chemical reaction. In
a chemical reaction, substances change into entirely different substances. For example, the iron in the bike and the
oxygen in the air have changed into rust.
Q:How could you represent this reaction, besides just describing it in words?
A:Scientists use a standard method to represent a chemical reaction, called a chemical equation.
What Is a Chemical Equation?
Achemical equationis a shorthand way to sum up what occurs in a chemical reaction. The general form of a
chemical equation is:
Reactants→ProductsThe reactants in a chemical equation are the substances that begin the reaction, and the products are the substances
that are produced in the reaction. The reactants are always written on the left side of the equation and the products
on the right. The arrow pointing from left to right shows that the reactants change into the products during the
reaction. This happens when chemical bonds break in the reactants and new bonds form in the products. As a result,