Chemical reactions are the “sentence” that shows a chemical change.
Components of a chemical reaction
Chemical reactions are made of reactants are listed first, followed by an arrow that indicates “yields,” “produces,” or “forms.” The arrow is followed by the products of the chemical reaction. Chemical reactions can also show states of matter and energy changes.
Common types of chemical reactions
There are several common types of chemical reactions. Composition reactions are when more than one type of matter combines to form one molecule. Decomposition reactions are the opposite of composition reactions. Single replacement reactions involve and element reacting with a compound and replacing one of the elements in the compound. A double replacement reaction has two compounds that switch ions. A neutralization reaction is a double replacement reaction between an acid and a base. Precipitation reactions are double replacement reactions that produce an insoluble compound. Redox reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one atom to another, resulting in the change of an oxidation number.
Oxidation numbers & Redox reactions
Oxidation numbers are the charge on an atom if the electrons involved in the bond are assigned to the more electronegative atom in the bond. When oxidation numbers change during a chemical reaction, it is a redox reaction.
Double replacement reactions and precipitations
Solubility rules can be used to determine if a double replacement reaction forms a precipitate, an insoluble ionic compound.
Net Ionic Reactions
Net ionic reactions remove all spectator ions (ions that dissociate on both sides of the reaction and remain unchanged).
