Q&A for How to Write a Chemical Equation

No, it is not necessary to do this. As long as the reactants remain on the left side of the arrow and the products remain on the right side, the compounds can be written in any order, regardless of how many atoms there are in each element.

Unfortunately, no. Balancing equations is often a trial and error process. A good tip to follow is to start by balancing an element that appears in only one reactant and product and then work from there. Make sure the coefficients you use to balance are in their most reduced form (if the only coefficients you have in the equation are 2 and 6, you would write them as 1 and 3.)

It depends upon the situation, but it's usually not necessary. The status is usually written just to make the equation more informative. If you are asked to write it for an assignment or examination, however, then you should write it down.

Bromine has 7 valence electrons, therefore is an ionic compound. It is able to gain an electron to form a bromide ion with a -1 charge. It is capable of making one covalent bond.

So no extra atoms of any element are added, and so the number of atoms are equal on the left and right sides.

Marsh gas contains several chemical components. The primary one is methane. It reacts with oxygen when ignited. There are two products of this reaction, carbon dioxide and water--CH4 + 2 O2 --> CO2 + 2 H2O. Hydrogen sulfide can also be present in marsh gas in minor quantities. When ignited, its reaction with oxygen produces water and sulfur dioxide--2 H2S + 3 O2 --> 2 H2O + 2 SO2. If not ignited, it could react slowly by this equation--2 H2S + O2 --> 2 H2O + 2 S--producing water and sulfur.

A balanced equation is an equation in which the number of atoms in each reacting element is equal to the number of atoms in each product element.

Ferric refers to the iron oxidation state of +3 while ferrous refers to the iron oxidation state of +2.

The release of gas makes it exothermic. Respiration is not just inhalation, but exhalation, too.

Saturated bond is a chemical compound that has a chain of carbon atoms linked together by single bonds.

Yes, because there are many bonds when dealing with electrons, protons, and neutrons.

You have to know the atomic number and the electrons present in each shell. For quicker recollection, it will be better to remember the periodic table groupwise and not period wise.

Answer: AlCl3 + H2 ; There are three main steps for writing the net ionic equation for Al + HCl = AlCl3 + H2 (Aluminum + Hydrochloric acid). First, we balance the molecular equation.

It is equivalent to the arrow symbol. You would use it after the reactants and before the products.

Make sure that the number of molecules (or atoms) is the same for both the reactants and the products. If there are more atoms or molecules on one side than the other, something went wrong (because matter can't be created or destroyed).

The equation is balanced if both sides (the reactants and the products) have the same number of molecules and the same number of atoms.