Chemical equations

• What are the molecules on the left side of a chemical equation called?


  Reactants
• What are the molecules on the right side of the chemical equation called?


  Products
• Symbol equations just show the symbols or formulas of the reactants and products.
• Why do symbol equations need to be balanced?

  So that there are the same number of atoms on both sides, due to conservation of mass.
• How can you balance an equation?


  Putting numbers in front of the formulas where needed.
• The three steps to balancing an equation:

  -Find an element that doesn’t balance and pencil in a number to try and sort it out

  -See where it gets you. It may create another imbalance, but if so, pencil in another number and see where it gets you

  -Carry on chasing the unbalanced elements until you get there.