CHAPTER

Chemical Reactions
and Equations 1064CH0l

onsider the following situations of daily life and think what happens
when -

milk is left at room temperature during summers.

an iron tawa/pan/nail is left exposed to humid atmosphere.
grapes get fermented,
food is cooked.
food gets digested in our body.
we respire.
In all the above situations, the nature and the identity of the initial
substance have somewhat changed. We have already learnt about physical
andchenmical changes ofmatter in our previous classes. Whenever a chemical
change occurs, we can say that a chemical reaction has taken place.
You may perhaps be wondering as to what is actually meant by a
chemical reaction. How do we come to know that a chemical reaction
has taken place? Let us perform some activities to fnd the answer to
these questions.

Actlvity 1.1
CAUTION: This Activity needs
the teacher's assistance. It
would be better if students
wear suitable eyeglasses. Tong

Clean a magnesium ribbon -Magnesum

bbon
about 3-4 cm long by rubbing
it with sandpaper.
Hold it with a pair of tongs.
Burn it using a spirit lamp or Watch-gla
burner and collect the ash so Burner
Magnesiu
formed in a watch-glass as oxide
shown in Fig. 1.1. Burn the
magnesium ribbon keeping it
away as far as possible from
your eyes. Ngure 1.1 of magrnes
What do you observe? Buning Qfa magnesium ribbon in air and collection
axtde in a watch-glass
 have
o b s e r v e d

changes
that
wvhite powder.
into a r e a c t i o n This powde
between
You
must
flame and due to the magn 1.1.1 V
whtte formed
oxtde. Itis
azzltng
atr. Is there
in the
magnestum

present
oxygen C h e n i c

and
Actvity 1.3
chemic

in a
contcal lask or a test hemic
Acthvity 1.2
a few zinc
granules
acid or sulphuric acid tube
to magne

Take lead nttrate

Take
Add dilute
hydrochlorie
tha,
with care.
souton natest (Fg. 1.2).
Handle the actd around
tube.
CAUTION:
observe
anything
happening
the zine Co
LHS a
Add potassium
Do you tube. Is there any
jodide solution

to this
granules?

Touch the
conical flask
or test change same

then t
What do you its temperature?

observe?
we can say that
activities,
both

the above three usto determinev chem

From observations helps
the following place equa

reaction has taken

a chemical 1.1.
(rk change in state
change in colour
Reca
-Glas t b evolution of agas can
change intemperature.
tota
H gs As we observe the changes around us, we can has
thatthere is alarge variety of chemical reactions takirg
Conical flask place around us. We will study about the various t sa
of chemical reactions andtheir symboic representati ske
lea
Dilute suBphuric acid in this Chapter.
Zinc granules

Flgure 1.2
1.1 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
Formation of hydrogen Activity l.l can be described as - when a magnesium ribbon is burnta ch
gas by the action of
ute sulphic acid on Oxygen, it gets converted to magnesium oxide. This description fi
zinc chemical reaction ina sentence form is quite long., It can be written in
shorter form. The simplest way to do this is to write it in the fomd
word-equation.
The word-equation for the above reaction would be
Magnesium + Oxygen ’ Magnesium oxide (1.4
(Reactants) (Product)
The substances that undergo chemical change in
magnesium and oxygen, are the reactants. The new the reaction (1.4
magnesium oxide, formed during the reaction, as a substance
Aword-equation shows change of product.
arrow placed between them. reactants to products throug
side (LHS) with a plus The reactants are written on the left-han
sign (+) between them. Similarly, products art
written on the right-hand
The arrowhead points side (RHS) with a plus sign (+) betweenthen
the reaction. towards the products, and shows the direction d

Scienct
 1.1.1
Writing a Chemical Equation
any
other shorter way for representing chemical equations?
Chemical
Is there equations can be made more concise and useful if we use
chemical formulae instead of words. Achemical equation represents a
chemical reaction. If you recall formulae of magnesium, oxygen and
magnesium
oxide. the above word-equation can be written as
Mgo (1.2)
Mg +O, ’
Count and compare the number of atoms of each element on the
and RHS of the arrow. Is the number of atoms of each element the
LHSboth the sides? If yes, then the equation is balanced. If not,
unbalanced because the mass is not the same on
equation is
then the skeletal
th sides of the equation. Such a chemical equation is a
chemical
hemical equation for a reaction. Equation (1.2) is a skeletal
equationfor the
burning of magnesium in air.

1.1.2Balanced Chemical Equations

Derallthe law of conservation of mass that you studied in Class IX; mass
That is, the
oanneither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
reaction
totalmass of the elements present in the products ofa chemical
reactants.
bas tobe equal to the total mass of the elements present in the
In other words, the number of atoms of each elemnent remains the
eame before and after a chemical reaction. Hence, we need to balance a
balanced? Let us
skeletal chemical equation. Is the chemical Eg. (1.2)
learn about balancing a chemical equation step by step.
The word-equation for Activity 1.3 may be represented as
Zinc +Sulphuric acid ’ Zinc sulphate + Hydrogen
The above word-equation may be represented by the following
chemical equation -
Zn +HSO, ’ Znso, +H, (1.3)
on both
Let us examine the number of atoms of different elements
sides of the arrow.

Element Number of atoms in Number of atoms

reactants (LHS) in products (RHS)

Zn 1 1
2
1 1
4 4

As the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of

the arrow, Eg. (1.3) is a balanced chemical equation.
Let us try to balance the following chemical equation -
Fe +H,0’ Fe,0, +H, (14)

Chemical Reactions and Equations 3

 Step o balanee a chentcal equatton, rat dravw boxea around tuch
tormula. Do not ehange anythingtlnside the boxes whtle balanelnA the
quatton.
clements present In the
Step I1: List the number of atoms of diflerent
unbalanced equatton (1.5). Number of atoms
Number of atoms In produets(Rs)
Klement
in reactants (LS)
balancing
with the compound
to start atoms, It may be a reactant or a
Step III: It is oten convenient
number of whlch has
the maximum
that containsthe maximum seletthe element Fe,0, and the element
select
product. In that Compound.
criterta, we RHS and only one on
these on the
number of atoms. Using OxVgen
atoms
ONygen in it. There are
four
the LHS.
oxygen atoms
To balance the In products
In reactants
Atomsof
Oxygen 4 (in Fe,O)
1(in H,0) 4
() Initial Ix4
( ) To balance r e m e m b e r e d that
we
be
atoms, it must involved in the
the number of or elements
To equalise formulae ofthe
compounds
put coefficient
atoms we can
cannot alter the balance oxygen equation
example, to partly balanced
reactions.For
H,0, or (H,0),. Now the
4'as 4 H,Oand not (1.6)
becomes (partly balanced equation)
H
Fe + 4H,0 ’Fe,0, balanced. Pick any
ofthese elements
Hatoms are still not the partly balanced
Step IV: Fe and hydrogen atoms in
Let us balance
to proceed further. number ofmolecules
the
equation.
number of Hatoms, make
To equalise the
ofhydrogen as four
on the RHS.
In products
In reactants
Atoms of
hydrogen
8 (in 4 H,0) 2 (in H)
() Initial 2 x4
() To balance
-
The equation would be (1.7)
(partly balanced equation)
Fe+ 4 H,0 ’ Fe,0, 4H,|
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