General Chemistry I Student Learning Guide Ylanna Bay View College

MODULE 17 CHEMICAL REACTIONS AND EQUATIONS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Identify the reactants and products in a chemical equation.

• Write a chemical equation from a description of a chemical reaction using
appropriate symbols.
• Illustrate the law of conservation of mass in a balanced chemical equation.
• Balance chemical equations using the prescribed guidelines.
• Identify the types of chemical reactions.
• Describe each of the five types of chemical reactions.
• Predict the products of simple chemical reactions.
• Use the electromotive series to predict products of single replacement reactions.

17.1 THE NATURE OF CHEMICAL REACTION

A chemical reaction is a process in which one or more substances are converted

into new substances with different physical and chemical properties.

A substance that enters into a chemical reaction is called a reactant. A substance

that is produced by a chemical reaction is called a product. A general description of
chemical reaction can thus be stated as reactants changing into products. . In one such
reaction, hydrogen gas reacts with chlorine gas to produce hydrogen chloride, a gas with
a sharp odor.

THE REASONS FOR REACTIONS. The arrangement of electrons in an atom determines

whether it will bond with other atoms and with which atoms it will bond. An atom with a full
set of valence electrons will not bond with other atoms. But an atom with an incomplete set
of valence electrons will bond. Through a chemical reaction, atoms have the opportunity
to obtain complete set of valence electrons and become more stable. During a chemical
reaction, atoms can from molecules, molecules can break apart to from atoms, or
molecules can react with other molecules. In nay case, new substances are produced as
existing bonds are broken, atoms are rearranged, and new bond are formed.

17.2 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

Chemical reactions are represented by sentence known as chemical equation.

Chemical equation is similar to the equations you have learned in mathematics. Just as a
mathematical equation describes what happens in a mathematical operation, a chemical
equation describes exactly what happens in a chemical reaction. More specifically, a
chemical equation identifies the reactants and products in a chemical equation.

WORD EQUATIONS. The simplest type of chemical equation is a word equation. Such
equations give the names of the reactants and the names of the products. Let’s consider
an example. Suppose a piece of calcium reacts with, or is burned in oxygen. To describe
the reaction you could say that calcium burns in oxygen to produce calcium oxide. This
reaction would be written as

calcium + oxygen → calcium oxide

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General Chemistry I Student Learning Guide Ylanna Bay View College

The + sign means reacts with and the → means yields, or produces. The equation
would be read as “calcium reacts with, or (in this case burns), in oxygen to yield calcium
oxide.” The arrow indicates the direction of the reaction. The arrow points away from the
reactants and toward the products. Calcium and oxygen are the reactants and calcium
oxide is the product.

FORMULA EQUATIONS. Chemical equations are more commonly written with

chemical symbols and formulas replacing the names of the reactants and products. This
type of chemical equation is called a formula equation, or simply a chemical equation. The
formula equation fort he burning of calcium described earlier can be written by first
determining the symbols and formulas that describe the reactants and products and then
substituting them into the word equation. The symbol for calcium is Ca, the formula for
oxygen gas is O2 and the formula for calcium oxide is CaO. By replacing the words with the
symbols and formulas we get

calcium + oxygen → calcium oxide

Ca + O2 → CaO

The formula equation is read in exactly the same way as the word equation-calcium
reacts with, or burns in, oxygen to yield calcium oxide.

The key to writing formula equations is to be very careful to use correct chemical
symbols and formulas for the reactants and products.

BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS. When writing chemical equations, it is essential

that you remember the law of conservation of matter, or mass. According to this law,
matter is neither created nor destroyed. Because all matter has mass, this means that mass
can neither be gained nor lost through a chemical reaction. Thus, the total mass of
reactants must be equal to the total mass of the products. For mass to remain constant
before and after a chemical reaction, the number of atoms of each element must be the
same before and after a chemical reaction. . As a result, the same number of atoms of
each element must appear on both sides of the arrow in a chemical equation. For
example, if the reactants in a chemical equation
BALANCING EQUATIONS contain 1 carbon atom, 4 hydrogen atoms, and 4
oxygen atoms, then the products will also contain 1
1. Write a formula equation with carbon atom, 4 hydrogen atoms, and 4 oxygen
correct symbols and formulas. atoms. When the law of conservation of matter is
observed in a chemical equation, the equation is
Na + Cl2 → NaCl called a balanced chemical equation.
2. Count the number of atoms of
each element on each side of What is the correct way to balance an
the arrow. equation? The correct way is to use coefficients, or
whole numbers written before the formulas for
3. Balance atoms by using reactants and products.
coefficients.
2Na + Cl2 → 2NaCl
Figure 9-1. Here you see a list of steps to follow in
4. Check your work by counting balancing a chemical equation.
atoms of each element.

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General Chemistry I Student Learning Guide Ylanna Bay View College
WRITING COMPLETE CHEMICAL EQUATIONS. In addition to verifying the law of
conservation of matter, there is another important reason for writing balanced equation.
When you write a balanced chemical equation, you are not deciding how the reactants
should combine. After all, the reaction will occur in a certain way whether or not you write
a balanced equation. You are simply describing how the reaction actually does occur.
Thus a balanced chemical equation relates the
macroscopic, observable, reaction to the Note:
interactions on a microscopic level. When balancing a chemical
equation, always remember how a
Because a chemical equation describes coefficient differs from a subscript. A
how a chemical reaction actually occurs, there coefficient is a number in front of a
is one other important piece of information that chemical formula that refers to the
is often included in a complete chemical number of units of the formula after it. A
equation. This information is the subscript is a number to the lower right
physical state of each reactant and product. of a symbol that indicates the number of
The three states of matter are solid (s), liquid (l), times the particular atom, ion, or group
and gas (g). These symbols are written after the of atoms occurs in the chemical formula.
chemical formulas in a chemical equation. Thus,
the complete chemical equation
for the combustion of methane in oxygen would be written as follows:

CH4 (g) + 2O2 (g) → CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l)

This equation tells you that methane gas reacts with oxygen gas to produce carbon
dioxide gas and liquid water.

In addition to the symbols for solid, liquid, and gas, you may see another symbols
used in some chemical equations. Many solids will not react unless they are dissolve din
water. For this reason, the symbol (aq) is used to indicate that a solid exists in aqueous, or
water, solution.

17.3 CLASSIFYING CHEMICAL REACTIONS

The four general types of chemical reactions are direct combination,

decomposition, single-replacement, and double-replacement.

DIRECT COMBINATION REACTIONS. In A direct combination reaction two or more

reactant come together to form a single product. Direct combination reactions are also
known as synthesis reactions. It is helpful to remember this type of reaction (as well as other
types of reactions) by a general from. The general form for a direct combination or synthesis
is

A + B → AB

The letters A and B stand for either elements or compounds, and AB stands for a compound
consisting of A and B. this is the only one of the four types of reactions in which there is a
single product. And this single product is always more complex than either of the reactants.

Examples: (a) 2 Na + Cl2 → 2 NaCl (b) 2 Fe + 3 O2 → 2 Fe2O3

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General Chemistry I Student Learning Guide Ylanna Bay View College
DECOMPOSITION REACTIONS. A decomposition reaction is a reaction in which a
single compound is broken down into two or more smaller compounds or elements. A
decomposition reaction is the reverse of a direct combination. The identifying characteristic
of decomposition reaction is the presence of only one reactant. The general formula for a
decomposition reaction is

AB → A + B

As in direct combination reaction, AB represents a compound. A and B represent elements

or compounds.

Examples: (a) 2 H2O → 2 H2 + O2 (b) CaCO3 → CaO + CO2

SINGLE-REPLACEMENT REACTIONS. In a single replacement, an uncombined element

displaces an element that is part of a compound. The reactants in a single-replacement
reaction are always one element and one compound. The general form for a single-
replacement reaction is

A + BX → AX + B

Where BX and AX are generally ionic compounds and A and B are elements. Notice that
the atom represented by the letter X switches its “partner” from B to A.

Examples: (a) Mg + CuSO4 → MgSO4 + Cu (b) Fe + CuSO4 → FeSO4 +

Cu

DOUBLE-REPLACEMENT REACTIONS. In a double-replacement reactions, atoms or ions

from two different compounds replace each other. An identifying characteristic of double-
replacement reaction is the presence of two compounds as reactants and two
compounds as products. The reactants in double-replacement reaction are generally ionic
compounds. The general form for a double-replacement reaction is

AX + BY → AY + BX

Notice that in this type of equation, the two atoms or ions represented by the letters X and Y
“ switch partners”.

Examples: (a) CaCO3 + 2 HCl → CaCl2 + H2CO3

SOME EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE. Although the majority of the chemical reactions that
you will encounter in your study of chemistry fit nicely into one of the four categories, there
are many reactions that do not. For example, many of the direct combination reactions we
used as examples were combustion reactions- in which something burned. But not all
combustion reactions are necessarily direct combination reactions. The example of the
combustion of methane, which we used to describe how to balance equations, is not a
direct combination reaction. Two reactants combine, but more than one product is
formed. In fact, this reaction does not fit into any of the four categories of reactions.

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Consider another combustion reaction in which gasohol burns in a car’s engine.
Gasohol is a type of fuel that is made up of regular unleaded gasoline and alcohol. It is
intended to burn a little more cleanly in order to release fewer pollutants and so protect the
environment. The alcohol in gasohol burns according to the following equation:

C2H5OH + 3 O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O

While the reactants side of this equation resembles many of the direct combination
reactions we have described, the product side of the equation shows two products instead
of one. This cannot be a direct combination reaction, nor can ir be a decomposition,
single-replacement, or double-replacement reaction.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

A. Multiple Choice. Read carefully each statement. Encircle the letter that corresponds to
your answer.

1. A number placed before a formula to indicate how many units of the substance are
involved in a chemical reaction is called a __________.
a. coefficient b. substrate c. subscript d. superscript
2. What is the coefficient for NaOH in the equation that describes its reaction with CO 2
to produce Na2CO3 and H2O? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3
d. 4
3. If a piece of coal contains 200 billion carbon atoms
and is burned completely, how many molecules of
carbon dioxide are produced?
a. 100 billion b. 200 billion c. 300 billion d. 600 billion
4. What type of reaction is represented by the equation
2Fe + 3Cl2 → 2FeCl3?
a. combustion b. decomposition c. single replacement d. synthesis
5. What type of reaction is represented by the equation Pb(NO 3)2 + K2CrO4 → PbCrO4 +
2KNO3?
a. decomposition b. single replacement c. double replacement d.
synthesis
6. What type of reaction occurs when potassium and chlorine gas produce potassium
chloride?
a. combustion b. decomposition c. single replacement d.
synthesis
7. A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being
permanently changed or consumed is called __________. a. a catalyst b. a
product c. a reactant d. an equilibrate
8. In the reaction between an iron bar and oxygen gas, iron (III) oxide is known as the
__________.
a. reactant b. product c. precipitate d. catalyst
9. When gasoline is chemically combined with oxygen inside your car's engine, the
products are mostly water and carbon dioxide. What class of reaction is this?
a. decomposition b. synthesis c. combustion d. single replacement
10. A solid that forms from a solution during a chemical reaction is called a __________.
a. precipitate b. substrate c. reactant d. formate

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11. What is the missing product in this balanced equation describing the decomposition
of water? 2H2O(l) + energy → O2(g) + _____ a. 2H2(g) b. H2(g) c. H2(g)
d. energy
12. A word equation includes both __________ and __________, separated by an arrow.
a. catalysts , precipitates b. reactants, products
c. reactors, producers d. matter, energy
13. In a balanced equation, the number of atoms on the left side of the equation is
__________ the number of atoms on the right side of the equation.
a. either greater than or less than b. always greater than
c. always less than d. always equal to
14. Hydrogen peroxide is stored in brown containers because in sunlight it changes into
oxygen and water. What class of reaction is this?
a. decomposition b. synthesis c. double replacement d. single replacement
15. During chemical reaction
a. atoms are created b. atoms are lost c. atoms are changed d. atoms are
rearranged

B. Balance each of the following equations and identify what the type of chemical reaction.

1. NiSO4 + Li3PO4 → Ni3(PO4)2 + Li2SO4 ______________________________

2. Co + O2 → Co2O3 ___________________

3. FeO + Al → Al2O3 + Fe ___________________

4. PbO2 → PbO + O2 ___________________

5. Ba(C2H3O2)2 + Na3PO4 → Ba3 (PO4)2 + NaC2H3O2 ___________________

MY REFLECTION 101

After finishing this module you are now going to share your insights about all the
things that you have learned and encountered in this module and during the class
discussions. Complete each statement below as honest as you can.

I have learned that___________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

However, I am still confused about ___________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I have realized that___________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

I feel that ____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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General Chemistry I Student Learning Guide Ylanna Bay View College

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