SJC/S.

4 Chemistry/Reactivity of Metals (Unit 11)

Writing Chemical Equations

Part A:

What is a Balanced Chemical Equation?

Carbon burns in air to give carbon dioxide gas. The word equation for the reaction is:
carbon + oxygen carbon dioxide
In a word equation, we write the reactant(s) on the left and the product(s) on the right. A plus (+) sign on the
left means to react with and a single arrow () means is / are changed to.
In a chemical equation, we use a combination of chemical symbols and formulae to represent a reaction:
C

O2

CO2

Since atoms do not disappear during a reaction, they just rearrange themselves to form new substances. When
the numbers of all atoms are the same on both sides, a chemical equation is balanced.
A chemical equation which is not balanced is wrong!
A-1: Stoichiometric Coefficients
Consider the oxidation of magnesium:
2Mg + O2 2MgO
The numbers before the formulae of reactants and products in a balanced equation are called stoichiometric
coefficients, i.e. 2 magnesium atoms reactions with 1 oxygen molecule to give 2 formula units of MgO.
Hence, the stoichiometric coefficients are: 2,1,2
Note that 1 is understood and should be left out, thus O2 is written instead of 1O2.
Question 1:
Consider the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to form water.

Write the chemical equation for the the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
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Question 2:
Write a balanced chemical equation for each of the following word equations.
(a)

calcium carbonate calcium oxide + carbon dioxide

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(b)

lead(II) oxide + carbon lead + carbon dioxide

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SJC/S.4 Chemistry/Reactivity of Metals (Unit 11)

A-2: State Symbols

The states of reactants may affect the results of a reaction, e.g. water H2O(l) and steam H2O(g). Therefore, the
states of substances in a chemical equation should be written. We use (s), (l), (g) and (aq) to represent solid, liquid,
gas and aqueous solution respectively, e.g.
C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g)

and

2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H2O(l)

Generally, an equation must be balanced with respect to

(1)

the number of atoms of any kind and

(2)

the net ionic charges.

Question 3:
Give the states of substances involved in each of the following equations.
(a)

CO2(?) + CaCO3(?) + H2O(?) Ca(HCO3)2(?)

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(b)

Fe2O3(?) + 3CO(?) 2Fe(?) + 3CO2(?)

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A-3: Irreversible Reactions and Reversible Reactions
The single arrow between the two sides of an equation indicates that the reaction goes one way only. At
the end, all reactants react to form products.
The double arrow is used in some equations. e.g.
N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g)
The means that the reaction is reversible, that is, both forward (left to right) and backward (right to left)
reactions occur at the same time. At the end, both reactants and products are present.
A-4: Limitations
It does not tell conditions for the reaction to start and the rate of reaction.
Besides, we can only find out the product(s) of a reaction by doing experiments. We cannot determine the
product(s) of a reaction simply by writing a chemical equation.
Part B:

Writing a Balanced Chemical Equation

Question 4:
Write a balanced chemical equation for each of the following reactions:
(a)

heating magnesium with steam (magnesium oxide and hydrogen are formed);

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(b)

zinc reacting with dilute hydrochloric acid (zinc chloride and hydrogen are formed);

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(c)

heating mercury(II) sulphide in air (mercury and sulphur dioxide are formed).

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(d)

carbon removing oxygen from zinc oxide (zinc and carbon dioxide are formed);

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(e)

heating iron in oxygen (iron(III) oxide is formed);

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