Chemistry

Balance Equations: Balancing chemical equations is a fundamental skill in chemistry where you
make sure that the number of atoms of each element in reactants equals the number of atoms of
each element in products. To do this you should write down the unbalanced equation to show
reactants and products. Note down the amount of atoms of each element that there are on each
side of the reaction arrow. Add the numbers in front of the formulas, the coefficients, so that the
number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation. Check your work by
counting atoms again. An example: C3H8 + O2 -----> H2O + CO2. This reactions occurs when propane
is burned in the presence of oxygen to produce water and carbon dioxide. So, we count number of
atoms of each element on both sides. On reactants side, we have 3 carbon (C 3), 8 hydrogen (H8) and
2 oxygen (O2). On products side, we have 1 carbon (C), 2 hydrogen (H 2) and 3 oxygen (O+O2). Next,
we start with single elements. We see that carbon appears only once on each side so we balance it
first by adding a coefficient of 3 in front of CO 2 on the products side. This is clearly because there are
3 carbons on propane bonded together: [C3]H8 + O2 ------> H2O + [3C]O2. Then we balance the
hydrogen atoms next. We have 8 hydrogen atoms on the reactants side, so we need 8 on the
product side as well. We do this by adding a coefficient of 4 in front of H 2O on the products side. This
is clearly because the hydrogens are in couplets on H 20 so we need to 4 couplets to make 8 :
C3[H8] + 02 ------> [4H2]0 + 3CO2. Finally, we balance the oxygen atoms last. We have 2 oxygen atoms
on the reactants side, but we have 10 on the products side. This is 4 from H 20 and 6 from CO2. To
make them equal, we add a coefficient of 5 in front of 0 2 on reactants. This is clear. Period. Oxygen is
in couplets so put 5 couplets together and you get 10 oxygen: C 3H8 + [5O2]------> 4H2O + 3CO2. To
check your answer, multiply the coefficients and subscripts and compare them.
C2H6O + 3O2 -----> 2CO2 + 3H2O | 2KNO3 + H2CO3 ------> K2CO3 + 2HNO3 | TiCl4 + 2H2O ------>
TiO2 + 4Hcl | Balanced Equations: Cleared

Bonding & Structure: In ionic bonding, the particles are oppositely charged ions. These
bonds occur in compounds formed from metals combined with non-metals. In covalent
bonding, the particles are atoms which share pairs of electrons and these bonds occur in
most non-metallic elements and in compounds of non-metals. In metallic bonding, the
particles are atoms which share delocalised electrons. This type of bonding occurs in
metallic elements and alloys. These metallic bonds conduct electricity because they
delocalised electrons or free electrons that aren’t bound to a particular atom but they can
move throughout the metal structure. So these free electrons can carry electrical charge
and transfer energy when a potential difference is applied.