CHEMICAL REACTIONS

Lecture Notes

Chemical Reactions:
Chemical reactions are processes in which the atoms of one or more substances are rearranged to form different
chemical compounds.
How to tell if a chemical reaction has occurred:
 Temperature changes that can’t be accounted for.
o Exothermic reactions give off energy (as in fire).
o Endothermic reactions absorb energy (as in a cold pack).
 Spontaneous color change.
o This happens when things rust, when they rot, and when they burn.
 Appearance of a solid when two liquids are mixed.
o This solid is called a precipitate.
 Formation of a gas / bubbling, as when vinegar and baking soda are mixed.
Overall, the most important thing to remember is that a chemical reaction produces a whole new chemical
compound. Just changing the way that something looks (breaking, melting, dissolving, etc) isn’t enough to qualify
something as a chemical reaction!

Types of Reactions
There are four main types of reactions:
1. Synthesis Reaction. A synthesis reaction combines two or more reactants in to a single product.
The general pattern for this reaction is: A + B  AB
Examples of substances that often combine in synthesis reactions:
metal + nonmetal yields a salt compound Ex: Ca + Cl2  CaCl2
metal + oxygen yields a metal oxide Ex: 2Mg + O2  2MgO
2. Decomposition Reaction
Decomposition reactions break down, or “decompose” a single reactant into multiple products.
The general pattern for decomposition reactions: AB  A + B “AB” is always a compound
A and B (products) may be single elements or smaller compounds
Some common types of decomposition reactions:
metal oxides yield metal + oxygen Ex: 2HgO  2Hg + O2
ternary acids yield nonmetal oxide + water Ex: H2CO3  CO2 + H2O
hydrates yield a compound + water Ex: BaCl2•H2O  BaCl2 + H2O
3. Single-replacement Reaction
In a single-replacement reaction, a reactive element replaces a less reactive element in a compound.
The general pattern for single-replacement reactions: A + BX  B + AX
A = reactive element The B in BX is less reactive than A.
Common single-replacement reactions:
*More active metal replaces the less active: Zn (s) + CuCl2 (aq)  Cu (s) + ZnCl2 (aq)
*Metal replaces the H in an acid: Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq)  MgCl2 + H2 (g)
*More active halogen replaces less reactive: Cl2 (g) + 2NaBr (aq)  2NaCl + Br2

Single-replacement reactions occur because the element that does the replacing is a more active element, based on
its tendency to lose or gain electrons.
If a compound is placed in contact with a more active element, a reaction is likely.
To determine whether or not a single-replacement reaction will occur, refer to the “activity series.”
If the free element is above the other (in the compound) on the activity series, a reaction will occur.

If the free element is below the other on the activity series, a reaction will not occur.
Will a Reaction Occur?
Au (s) + NaCl (aq)  ? Zn (s) + H2SO4  ?
Cl2 (g) + MgBr2  ? Mg (s) + Ca(OH)2  ?

4. Double-Replacement Reactions
In a double-replacement reaction, two compounds switch partners.

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The general pattern of this reaction: AY + BX  AX + BY
Most double-replacement reactions take place when both reactants are aqueous (dissolved in water).
When two aqueous compounds are mixed, and partners “swap,” a precipitate is often formed.
Example:
Pb(NO3)2 (aq) + K2CrO4 (aq)  PbCrO4 (s) + 2KNO3 (aq)
Another example double-replacement reaction: HCl (aq) + KOH (aq)  HOH (l) + KCl (aq)

If we break apart the compounds into ions, we get: H+ + Cl- + K+ + OH-  HOH + K+ + Cl-
**This is called the “ionic equation.”
H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq) + K+ (aq) + OH- (aq)  HOH (l) + K+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
K+ and Cl- are “spectator ions”
If you cross out what does not change from reactants to products (spectator ions), you get the “net ionic equation.”
H+ + OH-  HOH

Balancing Equations Notes: Things to keep in mind when looking at the recipes for chemical reactions:
1) The stuff before the arrow is referred to as the “reactants” or “reagents”, and the stuff after the arrow is called
the “products.”
2) The number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the arrow. Even though there may be different
numbers of molecules, the number of atoms of each element needs to remain the same to obey the law of
conservation of mass.
3) The numbers in front of the formulas tell you how many molecules or moles of each chemical are involved in the
reaction.
4) Equations are nothing more than chemical recipes.

Reaction Conditions and Terminology

Certain symbols give more info about a reaction.
(s) = solid; (l) = liquid; (g) = gas; (aq) = aqueous (dissolved in water)

More on aqueous…
-- “soluble” or “in solution” also indicate that a substance is dissolved in water
-- acids are aqueous solutions

Other symbols…
means…
 means heat is added to the reaction.
Temp. at which we perform rxn. might be given.
The catalyst used might be given.
precipitate: a solid product that forms in an aqueous solution reaction

Word Equations
word equation: Solid iron reacts with oxygen gas to yield solid iron(III) oxide.
skeletal equation:
balanced equation:

Write a balanced equation (w/rxn conditions) from the following word equations.

EX. Solid sodium reacts w/oxygen to form solid sodium oxide.

EX. Aqueous aluminum sulfate reacts w/aqueous calcium chloride to form a white
precipitate of calcium sulfate. The other compound remains in solution.

EX. Methane gas (CH4) reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide gas and water vapor.

EX. Write equations for the combustion of C7H16 and C8H18.

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Stoichiometry (Pronounced: STOY-KEE-AHM-EH-TREE)
Stoichiometry is the study of quantitative relationships between the amounts of reactants used and amounts of
products formed by a chemical reaction. Stoichiometry deals with calculations about the relationships of reactants
and products involved in a chemical reaction.
Stoichiometry allows a chemist or scientist to know how much of an element or reactant to use and how much
product is expected to come out of the reaction.
A limiting reagent allows us to predict which reactant (if any) will run out first and how much product can be
expected to form
• By combining our abilities to balance equations and do unit conversions, we can now complete
stoichiometry problems (mass to mass conversions)
 All stoichiometric calculations begin with a balanced chemical equation where you are given the amount of
one molecule (a reactant, or product in the reaction) and asked to find the amount of another.
 solve stoichiometry problems using a “T” chart just like we did for unit conversions, but we will add
additional cells

To convert from moles of one molecule to moles of another the conversion factor is the:
• mole ratio = a ratio between the numbers of moles (the coefficients) of two substances in a balanced equation

Let’s do the same calculation for a chemical reaction now!

Carbon monoxide reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide: 2CO + O2 → 2CO2
How many CO2 molecules are produced from 2 CO molecules? ________
How many O2 molecules are needed to produce 2 CO2 molecules? ________
How many CO molecules are needed to react with 1 O2 molecule?________
How many moles of CO2 are produced from 2 moles of CO? __________
How many moles of O2 are needed to produce 2 moles of CO2? __________
How many moles of CO are needed to react with 1 mole of O2? __________

Stoichiometry allows you to calculate the

• theoretical yield = the maximum amount of product that can be produced from a given amount of reactant.
In the lab we can measure the,
• actual yield = the amount of product actually produced when the chemical reaction is carried out in an
experiment.

Percent Yield
• The amount of product obtained from a reaction is called the actual yield.
• To indicate how well the actual yield agrees with the theoretical (calculated) yield, chemists report the percent
yield:

actual yield
Percent yield= x 100 %
theoretical yiled

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Illustrative Problems

1. Use the following equation: 2 C6H10 + 17 O2  12 CO2 + 10 H2O

a. If I do this reaction with 35 grams of C 6H10 and 45 grams of oxygen, how many grams of carbon
dioxide will be formed?
b. What is the limiting reagent?
c. How much of the excess reagent is left over after the reaction finished?
d. If 35 grams of carbon dioxide are actually formed from the reaction, what is the percent yield of
this reaction?
[Molar masses: C6H10=82.14; O2=32; CO2 = 44.01; H2O = 18.02 g/mol]

2. Write the balanced equation for the reaction of acetic acid with aluminum hydroxide to form water
and aluminum acetate. Using the equation, determine the mass of aluminum acetate that can be
made if I do this reaction with 125 grams of acetic acid and 275 grams of aluminum hydroxide.
What is the limiting reagent? How much of the excess reagent will be left over after the reaction is
complete?
[Molar masses: acetic acid = 60.05; aluminum hydroxide = 78; aluminum acetate = 204.11
g/mol]

3. Use the following equation to answer the questions that follow.

Fe + H2SO4  Fe2(SO4)3 + H2
a. Balance the equation.
b. Calculate the theoretical yield of Fe2(SO4)3 if 1.4 g Fe and 3.4 g H2SO4 are reacted.
c. If the percent yield of Fe2(SO4)3 in the reaction was 67%, what was the actual yield?
[Molar masses: Fe = 55.85; H2SO4 = 98.08; Fe2(SO4)3 = 399.88; H2 = 2.02 g/mol]