Chapter 10

Chemical Reactions
 Reactions and Equations 10.1
 A chemical reaction is when the atoms of one or more
substances are rearranged to form different substances
 How to tell if a chemical reaction has taken place
– Is there evidence? (Temperature change, color change, odor,
gas bubbles, general appearance)
 Equations are used to represent chemical reactions
– Show reactants: the starting substances
– Show Products: resulting or ending substances
– Do not show numerical values so arrow is used instead of an
equals sign
 Types of Equations

 Three types of equations

– Word
– Skeleton
– Chemical
 Word equations
– Used to indicate the reactants and products of
chemical reactions
– Uses the actual names of the substances involved
– Setup: Reactant 1 + Reactant 2  Product 1
Ex: Iron(s) + Chlorine(g)  Iron(III) Chloride(s)
 Skeleton Equations
– Uses chemical formulas to represent the substances unlike the
word equation
– Chemical formulas take the place of the words
– Iron(s) + Chlorine(g)  Iron(III) Chloride(s) would become:
Fe(s) + Cl2(g)  Fe Cl3(S)
 Chemical Equations
– Uses chemical formulas like the skeleton equation
– Shows matter is conserved during a reaction (Law of
Conservation of Mass)
– Chemical eqation: Uses identities and relative amounts of the
substances involved in a chemical reaction
– Everything is balanced in a chemical equation
 Balancing Chemical Equations
– Finding the correct coefficients for chemical formulas in the
skeleton equation is very important
 Coefficient is usually a whole number and 1 is understood
 Steps to Balance a Chemical
Equation
1. Write the skeleton equation
2. Count the atoms of elements in the reactants
3. Count the atoms of elements in the products
4. Change the coefficients to make both sides of the
equation the equal (DO NOT CHANGE SUBSCRIPTS)
5. Write the coefficient(s) in the lowest ratio possible
6. Check your work
– Ex:
2H2(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(g) Balanced: 4H2 + 2O2(g)  4H2O(g)

 Practice website
www.chem.vt.edu/RVGS/ACT/notes/scripts/bal_eq1.html
 Examples
 Hydrogen gas and bromine gas form gaseous
hydrogen bromide
– H2 + Br2  HBr
– Balanced: H2 + Br2  2HBr
 Balancing hints:
– When odd numbers of oxygen needed use a fraction, then
multiply by two
 Al + O2  Al2O3
 2Al + O2  Al2O3 need three oxygens (odd number)
 2Al + 1.5O2  Al2O3 fractions/ decimals cannot be left as coefficients
 4Al + 3O2  2Al2O3 Whole equation multiplied by two to get rid of
decimals or fractions
– Try the following:
 C2H6 + O2  CO2 + H2O
 Examples/ hints cont.
 When balancing with polyatomic ions found both in
the reactants and products, replace the ions by a
variable.
– Fe2O3 + H2SO4  Fe2 (SO4)3+ H2O
– Fe2O3 + H2X  Fe2 (X)3+ H2O
– Fe2O3 + 3H2X  Fe2 (X)3+ 3H2O
– Fe2O3 + 3H2SO4  Fe2 (SO4)3+ 3H2O
 Balancing with elements that appear more than twice
in different formulas (leave for last!)
– CO2 + H2  CH4 + H2O hydrogen appears more than twice
– CO2 + H2  CH4 + 2H2O balance C and O
– CO2 + 4H2  CH4 + 2H2O
 Classifying Chemical Reactions
10.2
 There are five types of chemical reactions.
1. Synthesis
2. Combustion
3. Decomposition
4. Single-Replacement
5. Double-Replacement

1. Synthesis Reaction
– Chemical reaction in which two or more substances
combine to form one single product.
– A + B  AB
 Ex: 2Na(s) + Cl2(g)  2NaCl(s)
 4Fe(s) + 3O2(g)  2Fe2O3 (s)
2. Combustion Reaction
– Oxygen combined with a substance releasing energy in the form
of light and heat
– Many combustion reactions are also synthesis reactions
 Ex: 2H2(g) + O2  2H2O(g)
3. Decomposition reactions
– Only one compound
– Breaks down into 2 or more compounds or elements
– Setup: AB A + B
– Often requires an energy source (i.e. heat, light, electricity)
 Ex: NH4NO3(s)  N2O(g) + 2H2O(g)
 The above reaction occurs when the reactant is heated
4. Replacement Reactions
– Unlike the other reactions, replacement reactions involve the
replacement of an element in a a compound
– 2 kinds of replacement reactions:
 Single
 Double
5. Single Replacement reactions
– When atoms of one element replace the atoms of
another element in a compound
– Setup: A+ BX  AX + B
– Whether or not a metal will replace another metal or
any other substance depends on the reactivity it has

6. Double Replacement reactions

– Invovles the exchange of ions between 2 compounds
– Setup: AX + BY  AY + BX
– If a solid is produced during the reaction it is called a
precipitate
Practice – Classify the following
equations
1. Cl2 + 2KBr  KCl + Br2
2. 2Ag2O  4Ag + O2
3. 2Na + Cl2  2NaCl
4. PbCl2 + Li2SO4  PbSO4 + 2LiCl
 Reactions in Aqueous Solutions
10.3
Vocab
 Aqueous solution- Solution in which the solvent is water
 Solvent- The water in the solution
 Solute- The compound dissolved in the water
 Precipitate- Solid formed in a chemical reaction
 Spectator ion- Ions that do not participate
 Complete ionic equation- Shows all particles as they
really exist
 Net ionic equation- Only includes particles that
participate (No spectator ions)
 Aqueous Solutions
 When two aqueous solutions
react it is always a double
replacement reaction.
 The water doesn’t react
 There are three possible
products when aqueous
solutions react, they are;
precipitates, water, or
gases.
 Spectator ions do not
participate in the reaction
and are usually not included
in the ionic equation.
 Writing Ionic Equations
 Ionic and chemical equations differ in that substances
that are ions in the solution are written as ions in the
equation.
 To write an ionic equation you must show the reactants
and the product as ions.
 A complete ionic equation shows all of the particles in
the solution as they realistically exist.
 A net ionic equation is a simplified version of the
complete ionic equation. It only shows particles that
participate in the reaction.
 To write a net ionic equation from a complete ionic
equation cross out all spectators.
 Ionic equations
 AgNO3(aq) + NaCl(aq)  AgCl(s) + NaNO3(aq)
 What type of reaction is this?
 A complete ionic equation shows
dissolved ionic compounds as their free
ions.
 Ag+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + Cl-
(aq)  AgCl(s) + Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
 Ionic Equations
 Ag+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + Cl-
(aq)  AgCl(s) + Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
 Ions that are not directly involved in a
reaction are called spectator ions.
 Rewriting the equation, leaving out the
spectator ions, gives us the net ionic
equation…
 Ag+(aq) + Cl-(aq)  AgCl(s)
 Ionic Equations
 You also have to make sure that the net
charge is balanced. For example…
 Pb(s) + 2Cl-(aq)  PbCl2(s)
 Examples
 HCl(aq) + ZnS(aq)  H2S(g) + ZnCl2(aq)
 Cl2(g) + NaBr(aq)  Br2(l) + NaCl(aq)