Chemical Change or Reaction: rearrangement of atoms to form a new substance; indicators include: energy release through light, sound or heat, electrical energy release or absorption, increase or decrease of temperature, production of gas or solid
(precipitate), color change and/or odor change
Percent Composition: the mass of the element divided by the mass of the compound
Theoretical Yield: the amount of product created during a reaction
Limiting Reactant: the reactant that determines how much yield is created
Writing Out Chemical Reactions

(s) solid phase |
(l) liquid phase |
(g) gas phase |
(aq) aqueous (water solution) phase |
“Yields,” separates reactants from products |
(+) separates multiple reactants or products |
Reactants are heated; Temperature unspecified |
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- Identify Reactants and Products: write an unbalanced equation for the reaction; include phases, plus sign and yield arrow described above; predict missing chemicals if necessary.
- Count Atoms of Each Elements in Reactants and Products: if compound is unchanged on both sides, count polyatomic ions as single units (ex:
); identify elements appearing the least on reactant and product side and balance these first (balance H, O, and other atoms that appear more than once at the end); never change subscripts in a chemical formula
- Add Coefficients to Balance: balance elements one at a time; write coefficients in lowest possible ratio (smallest possible whole numbers)
- Check your results: Are the chemical formulas written correctly? Are the number of atoms of each element equal on both sides?
Types of Reactions
Oxidation: the loss of one or more electrons by a molecule
Reduction: the gain of one or more electrons by a molecule
Redox Reaction: a reaction in which both oxidation and reduction occur
Combination/Synthesis Two substances or more yields one compound D+E → DE
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Decomposition One compound yields two or more elements and/or compounds
DE → D+E
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Acid/Base An acid & base yield conjugate base and conjugate acid

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Single Replacement A metal (or nonmetal) and a compound yields a new compound and a different metal (or nonmetal) G+DE → GD+E
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Double Replacement Two compounds yields two different compounds (one is usually water, solid, or gas)
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Ions
Simple Cations: same name as their atom (ex: , sodium ion); if it can form more than one cation, roman numerals are added to indicate charge , iron(III) ion)
Simple Anions: same name as their atom plus-ide, nitride ion)
Ionic Compounds: cation’s name followed by anion name (ex: NaCl, sodium chloride)
Covalent Compounds
- Prefix the less electronegative element if there is more than one atom followed by its name.
- Prefix the more electronegative element if there is more than one atom followed by its name plus the -ide ending
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Prefixes
1 |
mono- |
5 |
penta- |
2 |
di- |
6 |
hexa- |
3 |
tri- |
7 |
hepta- |
4 |
tetra- |
8 |
octa- |
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Examples: , dinitrogen trioxide; tin tetraiodide
Acids
H + element: use the prefix hydro- followed by the element’s root name with -ic ending. (ex: HF, hydrofluoric acid)
H + -ite polyatomic ion: polyatomic ions ending in -ite change to -ous (ex: nitrous acid)
H+ -ate polyatomic ion: polyatomic ions ending in -ate change to -ic (ex: , sulfuric acid)
Organic Compounds
Straight-Chain Hydrocarbons: prefix based on numbers of carbons
Short-Chain (1-3 Carbons)
–Alkanes: all carbons are single bonded; add -ane ending (ex: , ethane)
–Alkenes: at least one carbon has a double bond; add -ene ending (ex: , propene)
–Alkynes: at least one carbon has a triple bond; add -yne ending (ex: , ethyne)
Long-Chain (4 or more Carbons)
–Alkanes: same as above
–Alkenes and Alkynes: ending is the same; number the carbons so that double bonds are triple bonds occur at the lowest numbers
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Prefixes
1 meth-
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2 eth-
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3 prop-
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4 but-
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5 pent-
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>5 See above
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Energy and Change |
Comparisons
Temperature v. Heat: Measure of energy v. energy transfers from hightemperature to low-temperature objects
Endothermic v. Exothermic: Absorbs energy v. releases energy
Nuclear Fission v. Fusion: Two way split of heavy nucleus into smaller nuclei (ex: uranium decay) v. small nuclei fuse together to make a larger nucleus (ex: suns and starts)
Radioactivity
Radioactivity: spontaneous emission of energy by an atomic nucleus
Radioactive Decay: the decomposition of an element over time
Alpha Particle: the nucleus of a helium atom
Beta Particle: a free electron Gamma Ray: a ray of light
Half Life: the period of time required for half of a substance to undergo radioactive decay
Photon Energy
Planck’s Equation (for finding the energy of a photon): Energy is equal to the frequency of light times Planck’s Constant; E=hv
Plank’s Constant
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