Question:

What is a balanced chemical equation? Why should chemical equations be balanced?

Updated On: Nov 18, 2023
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Solution and Explanation

A reaction which has an equal number of atoms of all the elements on both sides of the chemical equation is called a balanced chemical equation. The law of conservation of mass states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed. Hence, in a chemical reaction, the total mass of reactants should be equal to the total mass of the products. It means that the total number of atoms of each element should be equal on both sides of a chemical equation. Hence, it is for this reason that chemical equations should be balanced.

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Concepts Used:

Some Basic Concepts of Chemistry

Chemistry is a vast subject and for understanding its significance we can take help of following points:

  • Chemistry plays an important role in understanding various subjects like physics, geology and biology.
  • Chemistry is a core branch of science that explains us about the various compositional properties and interaction of matter. It also helps to understand various chemical reactions.
  • Chemistry is important in order to understand the behaviour of fertilizers, alkenes, acids, salts, dyes, polymers, drugs, soaps and alloys in organic and inorganic chemistry.
  • Chemistry plays an important role in various fields like healthcare, industrial, research, food, and farm activities.

Read More: Some Basic Concepts of Chemistry

Classification of Matter

There are two ways of classifying the matter:

(A) Physical Classification:

Matter can exist in three physical states:

  1. Solids - have definite volume and definite shape
  2. Liquids - have definite volume but not definite shape.
  3. Gases - have neither definite volume nor definite shape.

(B) Chemical Classification:

Based upon the composition, matter can be divided into two main types:

  1. Pure Substances are defined as a single substance (or matter) which cannot be separated by simple physical methods. Pure substances can be further classified as (i) Elements (ii) Compounds
  2. Mixtures are the combination of two or more elements or compounds which are not chemically combined together and may also be present in any proportion.