Chemical Reactions and Equations

Chemical Reaction: Chemical reactions are the processes in which new substances with new
properties are formed.

During a chemical reaction

1. Atoms of one element DO NOT CHANGE into atoms of a different element

2. Only rearrangement of atoms takes place.

The substances that take part in a chemical reaction are called reactants.

The new substances that are produced as a result of chemical reaction are called products.

How to identify a chemical reaction:

The conversion of reactants into products in a chemical reaction is often accompanied by some
features which can be observed easily

1. Evolution of gas
a. The chemical reaction between zinc and dilute sulphuric acid is characterized by
evolution of hydrogen gas.
2. Formation of precipitate
a. When potassium iodide solution is added to lead nitrate, a yellow precipitate of lead
iodide is formed.
b. When barium chloride reacts with sulphuric acid, a white precipitate of barium
sulphate is formed
3. Change in color
a. Reaction between citric acid and potassium permanganate is characterized by a
change in color from purple to colorless.
b. Reaction between Sulphur dioxide gas and acidified potassium dichromate solution
is characterized by change in color from orange to green.
4. Change in temperature
a. Reaction between quicklime and slaked lime is characterized by rise in temperature
(exothermic)
b. Reaction between zinc and dilute sulphuric acid also results in a rise in temperature
(exothermic)
c. Reaction between barium hydroxide and ammonium chloride to form barium
chloride, ammonia and water results in fall in temperature (endothermic)
5. Change in state
a. Combustion reaction of candle wax is characterized by change in state from solid to
liquid and gas (wax is solid and the products water is liquid and carbon dioxide is a
gas)

NOTE:

Calcium oxide – lime or quick lime

Calcium hydroxide – slaked lime (quicklime + water gives slaked lime)

When applied on walls slaked lime reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to form the shiny layer of
calcium carbonate

1
 Chemical Reactions and Equations

NOTE:

There are two main oxides of iron

1. FeO -- Iron (II) oxide or Ferrous oxide. Iron (II) because valency of Iron in this oxide is 2.
2. Fe2O3 -- Iron (III) oxide or Ferric oxide. Iron (III) because valency of Iron in this oxide is 3.

Magnetic Iron Oxide Fe3O4 – is a mixture of ferrous oxide and ferric oxide.

It is also called Iron (II, III) oxide

Fe3O4= FeO + Fe2O3

Chemical Equations: The method of representing a chemical reaction with the help of symbols and
formulae of the substances involved in it is known as a chemical equation. A chemical equation is a
short-hand method of representing a chemical reaction.

A balanced chemical equation has an equal number of atoms of different elements in the reactants
and products. (OR) A balanced chemical equation has equal masses of various elements in reactants
and products.

An unbalanced chemical equation has an unequal number of atoms of one or more elements in the
reactants and products. (OR) An unbalanced equation has unequal masses of various elements in
reactants and products.

NOTE:

• Why do we need to balance the equations – to satisfy the law of conservation of mass
“matter can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction”. This means the
number of various types of atoms in reactants must be equal to the number of same type of
atoms in products.
• Writing a chemical equation without using symbols is called as the Word Equation
Zinc + Sulphuric acid ----------- > Zinc sulphate + Hydrogen

Chemical equations can be made more informative in three ways

1. By indicating the physical state of the reactants and products

a. Solid state is indicated by the symbol (s)
b. Liquid state is indicated by the symbol (l)
c. Gaseous state is indicated by the symbol (g)
d. Aqueous solution is indicated by the symbol (aq)
e. Precipitate is indicated by (ppt)
2. By indicating the heat changes taking place in the reaction
a. We can indicate this by writing “Heat” or “Heat Energy” or just “Energy” on the
reactant side (endothermic) or the product side (exothermic)
3. By indicating the conditions under which the reaction takes place.
a. If heat is required the heat sign (∆) ‘delta’ is put over the arrow of the equation.
b. If a catalyst is required the formula for the catalyst is written below the arrow.
c. Additional information such as pressure are mentioned above the arrow.
d. Conditions required above the arrow and catalysts below the arrow.

2
 Chemical Reactions and Equations

Types Of Chemical Reactions:

1. Combination Reaction
a. Reactions in which two or more substances combine to form a single substance are
called combination reactions.
b. Two or more elements can combine to form a compound
i. 2H2 + O2 -------------- > 2H2O
ii. 2Mg + O2 ------------- > 2MgO
c. Two or more compounds can combine to form a new compound
i. CaO + H20 ------------ > Ca(OH)2
ii. NH3 + HCl -------------> NH4Cl (Ammonium Chloride)
d. An element and a compound can combine to form a new compound
i. 2CO + O2 --------- > 2CO2
ii. 2SO2 + O2 ----------- > 2SO3

2. Decomposition Reaction
a. Reactions in which a compound splits up into two or more simpler substances is
called a decomposition reaction
b. Decomposition reactions are carried out by applying heat , light or electricity. Heat
light or electricity provides the energy which breaks the compound into simpler
substances.
c. Decomposition reactions are opposite of combination reaction.

d. Decomposition reaction carried out by heating is called Thermal Decomposition

i. 2KClO3 -----------HEAT------- > 2KCl + 3O2
ii. 2Pb(NO3)2 -----------HEAT-------- > 2PbO + 4NO2 + O2

e. Decomposition reaction carried out by using electricity are called electrolysis

i. 2H2O --------ELECTRICITY----- > 2H2 + O2
ii. 2Al2O3 --------ELECTRICITY----- > 4Al + 3O2

f. Decomposition by light
i. 2AgCl ---------LIGHT--------- > 2Ag + Cl2
ii. 2AgBr ---------LIGHT--------- > 2Ag + Br2

g. Uses of decomposition reaction

i. Decomposition y electricity is used to extract several metals from their
naturally occurring compounds like chlorides and oxides. When the molten
metal chloride or oxide is decompose by electricity then the metal is
obtained at the cathode (Negative electrode).
ii. Na is obtained by electrolysis of NaCl
iii. Al is obtained by electrolysis of Al2O3

h. Decomposition reaction in human body

i. Starch decomposes to simple sugars like glucose
ii. Proteins decompose to form amino acids

3
 Chemical Reactions and Equations

3. Displacement Reaction
a. Reactions in which one element takes the place of another element in a compound
is known as a displacement reaction.
b. A more reactive element displaces a less reactive element from its compound
i. CuSO4 + Zn ---------- > ZnSO4 + Cu
ii. Mg + 2HCl --------- > MgCl2 + H2
c. The term displacement reaction actually refers to single displacement reactions.

Element Symbol
Potassium K Most reactive
Sodium Na
Calcium Ca
Magnesium Mg
Aluminium Al
Zinc Zn
Iron Fe
Tin Sn
Lead Pb
Hydrogen H
Copper Cu
Mercury Hg
Silver Ag
Gold Au Least reactive

4. Double Displacement Reaction

a. Reactions in which two compounds react by an exchange of ions to form two new
compounds are called double displacement reactions.
b. Usually occurs in solution and one of the products, being insoluble, precipitates out.
c. Any reaction in which an insoluble solid (precipitate) is formed that separates from
the solution is called a precipitation reaction
d. AgNo3 + NaCl ----------- > AgCl + NaNO3
i. The Ag+ ions from AgNO3 react with Cl- ions from NaNO3 to form AgCl
ii. The Na+ ions from NaCl react with NO3- ions from AgNO3 to from NaNO3

5. Oxidation and Reduction Reaction

a. Oxidation
i. Addition of Oxygen to a substance
ii. Removal of Hydrogen from a substance
b. Reduction
i. Removal of Oxygen from a substance
ii. Addition of Hydrogen to a substance
c. Oxidizing Agent
i. Substance which gives Oxygen for oxidation
ii. Substance which removes Hydrogen
d. Reducing Agent
i. Substance which removes Oxygen
ii. Substance which gives Hydrogen for reduction
e. Process of oxidation and reduction are opposite of each other.

4
 Chemical Reactions and Equations

f. Oxidation and Reduction occur together i.e. if one reactant is oxidized the other
reactant is reduced.
g. Oxidation and Reduction reactions are also called redox reactions

h. CuO + H2 -----HEAT -------- > Cu + H2O

i. CuO is changing to Cu, it is losing Oxygen i.e. it is reducing. H2 is the reducing

agent as it is removing Oxygen.
ii. H2 is changing to H2O, it is gaining Oxygen i.e. it is oxidizing. CuO is the
oxidizing agent as it supplies the Oxygen for oxidation.

i. H2S + Cl ------------- > S + 2HCl

i. H2S is changing to S, It is losing Hydrogen i.e. it is oxidizing. Cl is the oxidizing

agent as it is removing Hydrogen.
ii. Cl is changing to HCl, it is gaining Hydrogen i.e. it is reducing. H2S is the
reducing agent as it is supplying Hydrogen for reduction.