BSEN 401 Lecture Notes - Nitric Oxide, Chemical Equation, Nitrogen Dioxide

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Business and Environment
• Course: BSEN 401
• Professor: William Huddleston

Document Summary

A chemical reaction is a process in which one set of substances (reactants) is converted to a new set of substances (products). The main evidences that prove that a chemical reaction has occurred are: Formation of a solid (precipitate) within a clear solution. To write the shorthand representation of a chemical equation certain steps must be followed. Consider the chemical reaction: nitrogen monoxide + oxygen nitrogen dioxide. An equation can be balanced only by adjusting the coefficients of formulas. Never change a formula for the purpose of balancing an equation. When balancing equations, using these strategies will result in efficient balancing of chemical equations. Balance elements that occur in only one compound of each side first. Balance unchanged polyatomics (or other groups of atoms) as groups. Fractional coefficients are acceptable and can be cleared at the end by multiplication. Problem: balance c6h14o4 + o2 co2 + h2o. Balance c: c6h14o4 + o2 6 co2 + h2o.