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So you've observed some chemical reactions. Sweet! Now how do we write this out??
In chemistry, scientists don't just describe what they see - descriptions can be long, vague or subjective. To help keep things organized people of science have developed a notation to make describing chemical reactions (we call chemical equations) simple.
The basic Layout of a chemical equation is as follows:
Reactants → Product(s)
Notation:
→ means yields (to make)
Δ = change, or add heat (if it is under an arrow
(g) = gas (l) = liquid (s) = solid
...if you have more than one product or a reactant, it will be separated by a plus sign.
Example: "Chemical Equation for photosynthesis"
.:CHEMISTRY SIDEBAR:.
Things to keep in mind:
a chemical reaction means that a new substance has been formed!
Below are some chemical reactions and their reactants -
Reactants are always on the left side of the equation!
[Reactants] → [Products]
*we will discuss all the numbers and what "balancing" means in a later unit [link coming soon]*
Final Notes:
Any words over/under the arrow means that they are catalysts (speed up a reaction), they are present but are *NOT* used up in a reaction! In biology, you may have heard of enzymes such as catalase. Catalase would be listed above (or below) an arrow (like the catalyst chlorophyll in the example above).
(Above: formation of a precipitate)
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