WRITING AND BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

• Symbols:

  1. → - separates the reactants from the products - "yields"
  2. + - separates the individual substances
  3. ⇌ - chemical reaction may proceed either towards the reactants side or towards the products side
• State of the compound or molecules:

  • usually written as a subscript next to the compound
  • solid (s) gas (g) aqueous (aq) - common state for acids, bases, and even dissolved ions
• Subscript - part of the chemical formula of the reactants and products
• Coefficients - placed in front of the formulas to indicate the number of molecules
• Balanced Chemical Equation - equal number of atoms for each species involved in the reaction