Balancing Chemical Equations

• What happens in a chemical reaction?

  During a chemical reaction reactants are mixed together to form products.
• Balance the following chemical equation:

  2 Mg + O2 ➔ 2MgO
• Balance the following chemical equation:

  N2  + 3 H2 ➔ 2 NH3
• When representing oxygen in a symbol equation, should you write 'O' or 'O2'?

  O2
• When balancing symbol equations, remember to use whole numbers in front of chemicals.

   

  For example, '3Na' is acceptable, but '1/2​Na' is not.
• What is a balanced equation?


  A balanced equation is 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.
• What is a product?

  Products are the new substances produced by a chemical reaction