Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOCOS NORTE

General Chemistry 1
Quarter 1 – Module 10:
Chemical Reactions and Equations

MELC: Write and balance chemical equations

(STEM_GC11CRIf-g-37)

Prepared by:

DENNIS M. CANONIZADO
Teacher II
Pinili National High School
General Chemistry
1
Quarter 1 – Module 10:
Chemical Reactions and Equations
 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
chemical reactions and equations. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of
students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the
order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you are now
using.

The module focuses on Writing Chemical Equations, Balancing Chemical Equations,

and Identifying Chemical Reactions.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. write equations for chemical reactions and balance the equations;
2. interpret the meaning of a balanced chemical reaction in terms of law of conservation
of mass;
3. identify the type of chemical reactions based on balanced equations;
4. describe evidence that a chemical reaction has occurred; and
5. perform exercises on writing and balancing equations;

What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following is true about the law of conservation of mass?

a. Atoms can be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.
b. No atoms can be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
c. The number of atoms of the reactant is always equal with the number of
atoms of the products.
d. The reactants and the products have always the same mass.

2. ______ are usually at the right side of the chemical equation.

a. Subscripts
b. Coefficients
c. Products
d. Reactants
 3. Which of these is a representation of the chemicals that undergo chemical reaction?
a. Chemical Equation
b. Empirical Equation
c. Chemical Formula
d. Empirical Formula

4. Which of the following gives the simplest atomic ratio of the combining elements?
a. Chemical Equation
b. Empirical Formula
c. Molecular Formula
d. Empirical Equation

5. Which of the following provides the actual number of atoms of each element present
in one molecule or formula unit?
a. Empirical Formula
b. Molecular Formula
c. Chemical Equation
d. Reactant

Lesson
Chemical Reactions and Equations
10

A chemical reaction is a process wherein substances are changed into one or more
new substances. It encompasses changes that only involve the position of electrons in the
formation and break up of chemical bonds between these atoms without any change in the
nuclei or no change to the elements present.

Chemical equation represents substances that undergo chemical reactions. It is a

representation using chemical symbols to show what happens during a chemical reaction.
These are written with reactants (the starting materials in a chemical reaction) and products
(the substances formed as a result of chemical reaction.

What’s In

Direction: Listed below are words which are connected to chemical reactions. Try to locate
these words and encircle them.
 What is New

Direction: Match the symbols in Column A with the items in Column B.

Column A Column B
(Symbol) (Significance in Chemical Reaction)

1.
↑ a. Yields; indicates result of reaction.

2.
Δ b. A reactant or product in solid state.

3.
(aq) c. The reactant or product is in aqueous solution.

4.
(s) d. Reactants are heated.
 5. e. Used to indicate a gaseous product; an alternative
→ to (g)

What is It

A. Writing Chemical Equations

Chemical reaction is a process in which substances are changed into one or more
new substances. It encompasses changes that only involve the positions of the electrons in
the forming and breaking of chemical bonds between atoms with no change to the nuclei or
no change to the elements present which often described by a chemical equation.

The substances that undergo reactions are represented by a chemical equation. It is

a representation with the use of chemical symbols to show what happens during chemical
reaction. A chemical equation is written with reactants and products wherein the reactants
are the starting materials while the products are the substances formed as a result of a
chemical reaction.

For each chemical equation, the reactants are usually written on the left side and the
products are on the right side. The reactants ant products always have an arrow (  ) in
between them which signifies “to yield”.

For example, in the equation 2 H2 + O2  2 H20 , two molecules of hydrogen reacts

with ( + sign) one oxygen molecule yields (  ) two water molecules.

B. Balancing Chemical Equations

Stoichiometry is often used to balance chemical equations. For example, the two
diatomic gases hydrogen and oxygen can combine to form water in an exothermic reaction
as described by the equation H2 + O2  H2O

The law of conservation of mass states that no atoms can be created nor destroyed
in a chemical reaction. Thus, the number of atoms which are present in the reactants has to
balance the number of atoms that are present in the products.

For example, to balance the equation Al + NaOH  Na3AlO3 + H2, consider the
following steps:

1. Identify the reactants and t→→→he products in the given chemical equation. Make a
table representing the two. Put the reactants on the left column of the table and the
products on the right.
 Reactants Products

Al (1) Al (1)
Na (1) Na (3)
O (1) O (3)
H (1) H (2)
2. You noticed that the number of atoms present in each element of the reactants are
not the same with those in the products. Begin balancing by trying different
coefficients to make the number of atoms of each element the same on both sides of
the equation. Make sure to use coefficients only. If the subscript is changed, the
identity of the substance also changes.
3. Look for elements that appear only once on each side of the equation with the same
number of atoms on each side. The formulas containing these elements must have
the same coefficient. Therefore, there is no need to adjust the coefficients of these
elements at this point.
4. Next, look for the element that appear only once on each side of the equation but not
equal in the number of atoms. Balance these elements.
5. Finally, balance the elements that appear in two or more formulas on the same side
of the equation. Check your balanced equation to be sure that you j=have the same
total number of each type of atoms on both sides of the equation.
Reactants Products
Al (2) Al (2)
Na (6) Na (6)
O (6) O (6)
H (6) H (6)
Therefore, the balance equation is 2 Al + 6 NaOH  2 Na3AlO3 + 3 H2.

C. Identifying Chemical Reactions

TYPES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS

1. Combination Reaction – It is also referred to as synthesis reaction. It is a

chemical change in which two or more substances react to form a single new
substance and the products is a compound. For example, 2 Mg + O2  2
MgO
2. Decomposition Reaction – It is the opposite of combination reaction by
which one single compound breaks down into two or more simple substances.
The products can be two or more elements or new compounds. Examples
are: MgCl2  Mg + Cl2 ; Na2CO3  Na2O + CO2
3. Single Replacement Reaction – This occurs when one element replaces
another element in a compound. It is also known as displacement reaction. An
example of this reaction is Cl2 + 2 NaBr  2 NaCl + Br2
 4. Double Replacement Reaction – Also known as double displacement
reaction or metathesis, is the chemical change where there is an exchange of
positive ions between two compounds. This type of reaction generally takes
place in aqueous solutions and often produces a precipitate. An example of
this reaction is NaHCO3(aq) + H2O(l)  NaOH(aq) + H2CO3(aq)
5. Combustion Reaction – In a combustion reaction, a substance reacts with
oxygen and releases energy in the form of heat and light. The reaction of
hydrogen gas with oxygen gas is an example of combustion reaction. For
example, CH4 + 2 O2  CO2 + 2 H2O.

What’s More

To balance a chemical reaction, count how many of each type of atoms are on each
side of the equation. Then place coefficients in front of the appropriate reactant or product to
balance the number of atoms on both sides of the equation. Note that a coefficient of 1 is
understood but is not shown.
Direction: Balance the given chemical reactions and identify the types of chemical reactions
involved:
1. _____ Fe + _____O2  _____Fe2O3

2. _____ C2H4 + _____O2  _____CO2 + _____H2O

3. _____ C7H9 + _____HNO3  _____C7H6(NO2)3 + _____ H2O

What I have Learned

1. The first thing to consider in balancing equation is never change the subscripts in a
chemical formula in order to balance the equation.

2. The coefficients in a chemical equation represent ratios and not the actual amounts
of reactants and/or products present.

3. When polyatomic ions are present, balance them as group instead of individual
atoms.
 4. There are five types of chemical reactions which include combustion, combination,
decomposition, single replacement and double replacement.

What I Can Do

Direction: For the next activity, translate the word equation into formulaic equation.
1. Potassium metal reacts with water to produce aqueous potassium hydroxide and
hydrogen gas.

2. Aluminum sulfate reacts with calcium hydroxide to produce aluminum hydroxide and
calcium sulfate.

3. Solid aluminum carbide reacts with water to produce methane gas and solid
aluminum hydroxide.

Assessment

Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.
1. Which is NOT a balanced chemical reaction?
a. 3 CuS + 8 HNO3  3 Cu(NO3)2 + 3 S + 2 NO + 4H2O
b. Fe + S8  FeS
c. 2 NH3 + Ca(OH)+  CaBr2 + 2 NaOH
d. 3 HBr + Al(OH)3  3 H2O + AlBr3
2. Which of the following is true about the law of conservation of mass?
a. Atoms can be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.
b. No atoms can be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
c. The number of atoms of the reactant is always equal with the number of
atoms of the products.
d. The reactants and the products have always the same mass.
3. ______ are usually at the right side of the chemical equation.
a. Products
b. Coefficients
c. Subscripts
d. Reactants
 4. Which of the following gives the simplest atomic ratio of the combining elements?
a. Chemical Equation
b. Molecular Formula
c. Empirical Formula
d. Empirical Equation
5. Given the balance equation 2 NaBr + Ca(OH)2  CaBr2 + 2 NaOH, what type of
chemical reaction is being represented?
a. double displacement
b. combustion
c. single displacement
d. synthesis

Additional Activities

Direction: Translate the given chemical reactions into word equations.

1. KClO3 (s)  KCl (s) + O2 (g)

2. C2H4 (g) + O2  CO2 + H2O