Chem 16

nd

Long Exam Reviewer

April 2015

CHEMICAL REACTIONS
Writing and Balancing Chemical
Equations
1. Place reactants to the left of the
yield arrow and products to the
right (leave space for the
coefficients)
2. Match the numbers of each type of
atom on the left and right of the
yield arrow by placing a balancing
(stoichiometric) coefficient: a
numerical multiplier which all
atoms in the formula follow
3. Adjust the coefficients; smallest
whole-number coefficients are
preferred
4. Specify states of matter (s, l, g, aq)
Formulas to Remember
% yield =
(actual yield/theoretical yield) x 100
Molarity = moles of solute/L of solution
(M = mol solute/L soln)
Diluted solution = amount (mol)
Mdil x Vdil = Mconc x Vconc
Determining Limiting Reactant
[Amount of reactant (g) x (1 mol of
reactant/g of 1 mol of
reactant)]/number of mols of reactant
in balanced equation = mols of product
produced
- perform equation for both reactant,
whichever has the smaller number of
product produced is the limiting
reactan
Precipitation Reactions
- Two soluble ionic compounds react to
form a precipitate (insoluble product)
- The formation of an insoluble product
through the net removal of ions from
solution
- MEMORIZE SOLUBILITY RULES
Acid-Base Reactions
- Also called neutralization reaction
- Involve water as a reactant or product
- Acid produces H+ ions in water
- Base produces OH- ions in water
- Equilibrium: no further change in the
amounts of reactants and products
occurs

UP Psych Soc

A. Acids and Bases as Electrolytes

1. Strong acids and strong bases
completely dissociate into ions
2. Weak acids and weak bases
dissociate into very little ions
B. Classification of Acids
1. Strong Acids HCl, HBr, HI,
HNO3, H2SO4, HClO4
2. Weak Acids HF, H3PO4,
CH3COOH, etc.
C. Classification of Base
1. Strong Bases
a. Group 1A(1) hydroxides
LiOH, NaOH, KOH, RbOH,
CsOH
b. Group 2A(2) hydroxides
Ca(OH)2, Sr(OH)2, Ba(OH)2
2. Weak Bases Ammonia, NH3
D. Formation of H2O from H+ and OH- when H2O is formed from an acid-base
reaction
- HX(aq) + MOH(aq) MX(aq) + H2O(l)
Wherein HX = acid, MOH = base, MX
= salt
E. Titration
- known concentration of one solution is
used to determine the unknown
concentration of another
- Equivalence point: when the amount
(mol) of H+ ions in the original volume
of acid has reacted with the same
amount (mol) of OH- ions in the base
- End point: when a tiny excess of OHions changes the indicator
permanently to its basic color
- Amount of base needed to reach the
end point = amount of base needed to
reach equivalence point
Reduction-Oxidation Reactions
- Electron transfer reactions
A. Terms to Remember
1. Oxidation loss of electrons
2. Reduction gain of electrons
3. Reducing agent- species that
donates electrons
4. Oxidizing Agent species that
gains electrons

Literary Archives Committee

Chemical Reactions

Chem 16

nd

Long Exam Reviewer

5. Half-reactions - chemical
equations that show electrons
involved in the reaction
6. LEORA Loss of electrons,
oxidation, reducing agent
7. GEROA Gain of electrons,
reduction, oxidizing agent
B. Rules in Assigning Oxidation Numbers
1. For an atom in its elemental form
(Na, O2, Cl2, etc) O.N. = 0
2. For a monatomic ions, O.N. = ion
charge
3. The sum of O.N. values for the
atoms in a molecule or formula unit
of a compound = 0
4. The sum of O.N. values for atoms
in a polyatomic ion = ion charge
5. For Group 1A(1): O.N. = +1 in all
compounds
6. For Group 2A(2): O.N. = +2 in all
compounds
7. For hydrogen:
O.N. = +1 in combination with
nonmetals
O.N. = -1 in combination with
metals and boron
8. For fluorine, O.N. = -1 in all
compounds
9. For oxygen:
O.N. = -1 in peroxides
O.N. = -2 in all other compounds
(except with F)
10. For group 7A(7), O.N. = -1 in
combinations with metals,
nonmetals (Except O) and other
halogens lower in the group
C. Using O.N.s to Identify Agents
1. Oxidation is shown by an increase
in O.N. from reactant to product
(more positive or less negative
O.N.)
2. Reduction is shown by a decrease
in O.N. from reaction to product
(less positive or more negative
O.N.)

April 2015

Acidic Solutions
a. Add H2O to the O-deficient side
(1 H2O for every O)
b. Add 2 H+ to the other side for
every H2O added
Basic Solutions
a. Perform all the steps for acidic
solutions
b. Remove the H+ in the two halfreactions by adding one OHper H+ in both the left and right
sides of the equation (H+ + OH H2O)
c. Remove any common terms
(species present in both the left
and right sides of the equation)
E. Types of Redox Reactions
1. Combination Redox Reactions
two or more reactants, at least one
of which is an element, form a
compound
- X+YZ
2. Decomposition Redox Reactions
a compound forms two or more
products, at least one of which is
an element
- Z X+Y
a. Thermal Decomposition
reaction absorbs heat to
decompose
b. Electrolytic Decomposition
compound absorbs electrical
energy to decompose
3. Displacement Redox Reactions
a. Double-displacement reactions
(also known as metathesis
reactions) are NOT redox
reactions
- AB + CD AC + BD
b. ALL single-displacement
reactions are redox reactions
- X + YZ XZ + Y

D. Balancing Redox Reactions

1. Mass Balance same number of
atoms of each kind for both
products and reactants
2. Charge Balance sums of actual
charges on left and right sides of
equation are equal

UP Psych Soc

Literary Archives Committee

Chemical Reactions