Chemical Equations

• A chemical equation shows what happens in a chemical reaction using symbols or words. The reactants (the chemicals that are reacting) are on the left-hand side, and the products (the chemicals that are forming) are on the right-hand side.
• Word equations

  • The word equation for the creation of sodium oxide is:
  • Sodium + oxygen → sodium oxide
• Symbol equations

  • Symbol equations must be 'balanced' (have the same number of atoms of each element on each side of the equation). This is because atoms aren't created or destroyed during chemical reactions.
  • The balanced symbol equation for the creation of sodium oxide is:
  • 4Na + O → 2Na O

  2 2