THE SENTENCES OF CHEMISTRY

As noted earlier, chemistry is a language. Success in the study of chemistry depends upon how well chemical language is learned. This chapter presents the last of the most basic parts of the chemical language. When it has b n learned, the reader will have the essential tools needed to speak and write chemistry and to apply it in environmental and other areas. 

Chemical Reactions and Equations The Sentences of the Chemical T.angiiaff  

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A chemical equation is a statement in formulas that expresses the identities and quantities of the substances involved in a chemical or physical change. Equations are the sentences of chemistry, just as chemical formulas are the words and atomic symbols the letters. The left side of an equation shows the amount of each substance present before the change, and the right side shows the amounts present afterward. For an equation to depict these amounts accurately, it must be balanced that is, the same number of each type of atom must appear on both sides of the equation. This requirement follows directly from the mass laws and the atomic theory ... 

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