Balancing Chemical Equations

• What is a balanced equation?

  A symbol equation in which there are equal numbers of each type of atom on either side of the equation
• What is a word equation?

  A word equation is an equation in which the reactants and products in a chemical reaction are represented by words. E.g. hydrogen + oxygen -> water
• When balancing a chemical equation, are you allowed to change the small numbers such as the 2 in N₂?


  No, you can only change the large numbers in front of each substance, such as the 2 in 2Na
• How would you represent hydrogen in a symbol equation?

  Hydrogen is diatomic (it exists as molecules made from 2 atoms), so should be represented as H₂
• What is a reactant?

  Reactants are the starting materials in a chemical reaction
• What is a product?

  Products are the new substances produced by a chemical reaction