A chemical reaction is the change of a substance into a new one that has a different

chemical identity.
All chemical reactions can be placed into one of six categories. Here they are, in no
particular order:
1) Combustion: A combustion reaction is when oxygen combines with another compound to
form water and carbon dioxide. These reactions are exothermic, meaning they produce heat. An
example of this kind of reaction is the burning of napthalene:
C10H8 + 12 O2 ---> 10 CO2 + 4 H2O

2) Synthesis: A synthesis reaction is when two or more simple compounds combine to form a
more complicated one. These reactions come in the general form of:
A + B ---> AB
One example of a synthesis reaction is the combination of iron and sulfur to form iron (II)
sulfide:
8 Fe + S8 ---> 8 FeS

3) Decomposition: A decomposition reaction is the opposite of a synthesis reaction - a

complex molecule breaks down to make simpler ones. These reactions come in the general form:
AB ---> A + B
One example of a decomposition reaction is the electrolysis of water to make oxygen and
hydrogen gas:
2 H2O ---> 2 H2 + O2

4) Single displacement: This is when one element trades places with another element in a
compound. These reactions come in the general form of:
A + BC ---> AC + B
One example of a single displacement reaction is when magnesium replaces hydrogen in water
to make magnesium hydroxide and hydrogen gas:
Mg + 2 H2O ---> Mg(OH)2 + H2

5) Double displacement: This is when the anions and cations of two different molecules
switch places, forming two entirely different compounds. These reactions are in the general
form:
AB + CD ---> AD + CB
One example of a double displacement reaction is the reaction of lead (II) nitrate with
potassium iodide to form lead (II) iodide and potassium nitrate:
Pb(NO3)2 + 2 KI ---> PbI2 + 2 KNO3

6) Acid-base: This is a special kind of double displacement reaction that takes place when an
acid and base react with each other. The H+ ion in the acid reacts with the OH- ion in the base,
causing the formation of water. Generally, the product of this reaction is some ionic salt and
water:
HA + BOH ---> H2O + BA
One example of an acid-base reaction is the reaction of hydrobromic acid (HBr) with sodium
hydroxide:
HBr + NaOH ---> NaBr + H2O

Neutralization Reaction - Acids + Bases

A salt is any compound which can be derived from the neutralization of an acid and a
base. The word "neutralization" is used because the acid and base properties of H + and OH- are
destroyed or neutralized. In the reaction, H+ and OH- combine to form HOH or H2O or water
molecules. A neutralization is a type of double replacement reaction. A salt is the product of an
acid-base reaction and is a much broader term then common table salt as shown in the first
reaction.

The following are some examples of neutralization reactions to form salts.

a. HCl + NaOH --> NaCl + HOH
b. H2SO4 + 2 NH4OH --> (NH4)2SO4 + 2 HOH
c. 2 NaOH + H2CO3 --> N2CO3 + 2 NaOH
d.CO2 + H2O --> H2CO3

Formation reactions are chemical reactions that form one mole of a substance from its
constituent elements in their standard states. By standard states we mean as a diatomic
molecule if that is how the element exists and the proper phase at normal temperatures
(typically room temperature). The product is one mole of substance, which may require that
coefficients on the reactant side be fractional (a change from our normal insistence that all
coefficients be whole numbers).
For example, the formation reaction for methane (CH4) is
C(s) + 2H2(g) CH4(g)
The formation reaction for carbon dioxide (CO2) is
C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g)
In both cases, one of the elements is a diatomic molecule because that is the standard state for
that particular element. The formation reaction for H2O
2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H2O()
is not in a standard state because the coefficient on the product is 2; for a proper formation
reaction, only one mole of product is formed. Thus, we have to divide all coefficients by 2:
H2(g) + 1/2O2(g) H2O()

Net ionic equations attempt to show only the particles involved in a chemical reaction.
A balanced equation in "molecular" form:
2 AgNO3(aq) + ZnCl2(aq) 2 AgCl(cr) + Zn(NO3)2(aq)
The "net ionic" form of the same equation:
Ag +(aq) + Cl(aq) AgCl(cr)
To write net ionic equation, you must first decide - are substances written as molecules
or ions?
Molecules or Ions? Seven rules to help decide:
1. Binary acids:

Strong acids are written in ionic form.

Examples: HCl, HBr, HI
Weak acids are written in molecular form.
Examples: All other binary acids.
2. Ternary acids:

Strong ternary acids are written as ions: the number of oxygen atoms exceeds the

number of hydrogen atoms by two or more.

Examples: H2SO4, HNO3
Weak ternary acids are written as molecules.
Examples: H3PO4, HNO2
3. Polyprotic acids:

Those acids have more than one ionizable hydrogen.

The second and all other ionizations are always weak.

 Examples: H2SO4 is written in ionic form according to Rule #2.

One H is removed leaving HSO4.
Rule #3 assures us that this particle will not ionize farther.

4. Bases:

Hydroxides of groups 1 and 2, except Be, are strong bases and are written in ionic
form.

All others are weak and written in molecular form.

5. Salts:

Salts are written in molecular form if insoluble.

Salts are written in ionic form if soluble.

Salt Solubility Rules:
1. Salts of group 1 and ammonium (NH4+) are soluble.
2. Acetates and nitrates are soluble.
3. Binary compounds of group 17, except F, are soluble with metals, except

Ag, Hg+, and Pb.

4. All sulfates are soluble, except those of Ba, Sr, Pb, Ca, Ag, and Hg+.
5. Except for those in Rule 1, carbonates, hydroxides, oxides, sulfides, and
phosphates are insoluble.

6. Oxides:

Oxides are always written in molecular form.

7. Gases:

Gases are always written in molecular form.

Half-Reactions
Although oxidation and reduction proceed simultaneously and an oxidation-reduction
reaction can be shown in a single equation, the processes of oxidation and reduction are often
shown as separate equations known as half-reactions. We encountered several examples of halfreactions in Section 8.3 during the introduction to oxidation, but we did not use the term itself.
The half-reactions for the oxidation of sodium and magnesium are:
Na
Mg

Na+ + eMg2+ + 2 e-

In these oxidation half-reactions, electrons are found as products. Similarly, we have already
encountered reduction half-reactions for chlorine and oxygen:
Cl2 + 2 e-

2 Cl-

O2 + 4 e-

2 O2-

In a reduction half-reaction, the electrons are reactants.

An oxidation-reduction reaction results from the combination of an oxidation half-reaction with
a reduction half-reaction. The reaction of iron with copper(II) ion (discussed in Section 14.1)
combines the two half-reactions:
oxidation: Fe(s)

Fe2+(aq) + 2 e-

reduction: Cu2+(aq) + 2 e-

Cu(s)

The equations have been labeled oxidation and reduction. Note that electrons are a product
(have been lost) in the oxidation half-reaction and are a reactant (have been gained) in the
reduction half-reaction.

By adding together an oxidation half-reaction and a reduction half-reaction, the net ionic
equation for an oxidation-reduction is obtained. This equation will be balanced if the numbers
of electrons in the two half-reactions are equal. Both half-reactions shown above involve two
electrons. Adding them together gives the balanced net ionic equation for the overall reaction.

If the number of electrons in the two half-reactions is not the same, as, for example, in the
reaction of aluminum with hydrogen ion, each equation must be multiplied by an appropriate
factor. The unbalanced equation for this reaction is:
Al(s) + H+

Al3+ + H2(g)

The half-reactions are:

oxidation: Al(s)

Al3+(aq) + 3 e-

reduction: 2 H+(aq) + 2 e-

H2(g)

Three electrons are lost in the oxidation half-reaction, but only two are gained in the reduction
half-reaction. Before we can add them to obtain the net ionic equation for the overall reaction,
we must multiply the oxidation half-reaction by 2 and the reduction half-reaction by 3. We then
obtain
oxidation: 2 Al(s)

2 Al3+(aq) + 6 e-

reduction: 6 H+(aq) + 6 e-

3 H2(g)

which can be added to give the balanced equation:

Redox reactions, or oxidation-reduction reactions, have a number of similarities to acidbase reactions. Fundamentally, redox reactions are a family of reactions that are concerned with
the transfer of electrons between species. Like acid-base reactions, redox reactions are a
matched set -- you don't have an oxidation reaction without a reduction reaction happening at
the same time. Oxidation refers to the loss of electrons, while reduction refers to the gain of
electrons. Each reaction by itself is called a "half-reaction", simply because we need two (2) halfreactions to form a whole reaction. In notating redox reactions, chemists typically write out the
electrons explicitly:
Cu (s) ----> Cu2+ + 2 eThis half-reaction says that we have solid copper (with no charge) being oxidized (losing
electrons) to form a copper ion with a plus 2 charge. Notice that, like the stoichiometry notation,
we have a "balance" between both sides of the reaction. We have one (1) copper atom on both
sides, and the charges balance as well. The symbol "e-" represents a free electron with a negative
charge that can now go out and reduce some other species, such as in the half-reaction:
2 Ag+ (aq) + 2 e- ------> 2 Ag (s)
Here, two silver ions (silver with a positive charge) are being reduced through the addition of
two (2) electrons to form solid silver. The abbreviations "aq" and "s" mean aqueous and solid,
respectively. We can now combine the two (2) half-reactions to form a redox equation:

We can also discuss the individual components of these reactions as follows. If a chemical causes
another substance to be oxidized, we call it the oxidizing agent. In the equation above, Ag + is the

oxidizing agent, because it causes Cu(s) to lose electrons. Oxidants get reduced in the process by
a reducing agent. Cu(s) is, naturally, the reducing agent in this case, as it causes Ag + to gain
electrons.

Organic reactions are chemical reactions involving organic compounds.[1] The basic organic
chemistry reaction types are addition reactions, elimination reactions, substitution reactions,
pericyclic reactions, rearrangement reactions, photochemical reactions and redox reactions. In
organic synthesis, organic reactions are used in the construction of new organic molecules. The
production of many man-made chemicals such as drugs, plastics, food additives, fabrics depend
on organic reactions.
The oldest organic reactions are combustion of organic fuels and saponification of fats to make
soap. Modernorganic chemistry starts with the Whler synthesis in 1828. In the history of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry awards have been given for the invention of specific organic reactions
such as the Grignard reaction in 1912, the Diels-Alder reaction in 1950, the Wittig reaction in
1979 and olefin metathesis in 2005.