Key Vocabulary
Chemical equation: the arrow separates the formulas of the reactants ( on the left) from the formulas of the products (on the right)
Balanced equation: each side of the equation has the same number of atoms of each element
Skeleton equation: chemical equation that doesn't indicate the relative amounts of the reactants and products involved in the reaction
Catalyst: a substance that speeds up the rate of a reaction but that is NOT used up in the reaction
Coefficients: numbers placed in front of the symbols for the respective parts
Combination reaction: two or more substances combine to form a single substance
Decomposition reaction: a single compound is broken down into two or more products
Single-replacement reaction: one element replaces a second element in a compound
Activity series of Metals: lists metals in order of decreasing reactivity, a reactive metal will replace any metal listed below it in the activity series
Double-replacement reactions: involve an exchange of positive ions between two reacting compounds
Combustion reaction: an element or a compound reacts with oxygen, often producing energy as heat and light
Complete ionic equation: an equation that shows dissolved ionic compounds as their free ions
Spectator ions: ions that are NOT directly involved in a reaction
Net ionic equation: the equation that indicates only those particles that actually take part in the reaction
Law of conservation of Mass: the mass of the system must remain constant over time; the law implies that mass can neither be created nor destroyed, the total mass of the reactants must be equal to the mass of the products