In chemistry it is imperative that you understand how chemical reactions occur and how to describe them. So, take the time to learn how to create a chemical equation.
A chemical reaction is the rearrangement of atoms or ions to form new substances. In other words, a chemical reaction always involves the changing of one or more substances into one or more new substances.
Chemists describe chemical reactions with chemical equations based on the empirical evidences recorded in the laboratory. These chemical equations allow chemists to make several quantitative predictions about chemical reactions, so you need to master this skill.
What is a Chemical Equation?
It is a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction and reveals three things.
the reactants
the products and
the amounts involved
Preparing for Chemical Equations
The writing of a chemical equation is fairly simple; but you must be familiar with a few things before writing them. You must know the following:
how to use the periodic table
how to write chemical formulas
how to name compounds and
a few simple symbols
Once you have mastered these components you are ready to write chemical equations.
The Symbols
gas (g)
solid (s)
liquid (l)
aqueous (aq)
===> (yields)
7 Steps to Writing Chemical equations
Identify the reactants
Identify the products
Write formulas for the reactants
Write formulas for the products
Write the reactants on the left
Write the products on the right
Place an arrow between them
Example: Write the equation for the reaction of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid to produce sodium chloride and water.
The reactants would be NaOH and HCl. The products would be NaCl and HOH. Now write the equation with reactants on the left and the products on the right.
NaOH + HCl ===> NaCl + HOH
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