Chemical Reactions
In a chemical reaction, atoms are rearranged and then bond together in different ways to create new substances. In a chemical reaction, the atoms, ions, or molecules reacting together are called the reactants. The new substances formed as a result of the chemical reaction are called the products.
Different words are sometimes used to talk about the substances in a chemical reaction. The term element is used for a substance made from only one type of atom. Another word used to describe a substance is compound. A compound is a substance made up of all the same molecules which are made up of more than one type of atom. |
One thing that is always true in every chemical reaction is that the atoms that make up the reactants always show up in the products. No atoms from the reactants are ever destroyed or disappear, and no atoms are every spontaneously created in the products. This is all due to the Law of Conservation of Mass. Since the same number of atoms are in the reactants and products, a chemical reaction can be described in a chemical equation. In a chemical equation, the reactants are written on the left side of the arrow and the products are written on the right. The arrow means that the reactants yield, or form the products.
|