Balancing equations and calculations

• Word equations


  Useful to show which chemicals react together (reactants) and which chemicals are produced (products)
• Symbol equations


  Allow chemists to work out the masses that will react or be produced
• Balancing a chemical equation

  Adjust the number of units of some of the substances until you get equal numbers of each type of atom on both sides
• Never change a formula to balance an equation, only change the numbers in front of the formulae</b>
• State symbols


  Used to show whether the reactants and products in a chemical reaction are solids, gases, liquids or aqueous (dissolved in water)
• Mass is conserved in chemical reactions, no atoms are made or destroyed
• Relative atomic mass


  Can be used to find the relative formula mass of a compound
• Percentage composition of compounds can be calculated
• Percentage yield can be calculated