Research

What is a chemical reaction?

A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of
chemical substances to another. Historically, chemical reactions encompass changes
that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking of chemical
bonds between atoms, with no change to the elements present. During
reaction, chemical bonds between atoms are formed or broken. An arrow is drawn
between the reactants and products to indicate the direction of the chemical reaction,
though a chemical reaction is not always a "one-way street," as we'll explore further in
the next section.
The substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants. Chemical
reactions are usually characterized by a chemical change, and they yield one or more
products, which usually have properties different from the reactants. Reactions often
consist of a sequence of individual steps, the elementary reactions, and the information
on the precise course of action is part of the reaction mechanism.

For example, the reaction for breakdown of hydrogen peroxide H₂O₂ into water and
oxygen can be written as:

2H₂O₂(hydrogen peroxide) →→ 2H₂O (water)+O₂(oxygen)

In this example hydrogen peroxide is our reactant, and it gets broken down into water
and oxygen, our products. The atoms that started out in hydrogen peroxide molecules
are rearranged to form water molecules. extra numbers in the chemical equation
above: the (2) in front of hydrogen peroxide and water. These numbers are
called coefficients, and they tell us how many of each molecule participate in the
reaction. They must be included in order to make our equation balanced, meaning that
the number of atoms of each element is the same on the two sides of the equation.

Equations must be balanced to reflect the law of conservation of matter, which states
that no atoms are created or destroyed over the course of a normal chemical reaction.
Chemical reactions are classified into many types:
- Synthesis reactions, two or more reactants combine to make 1 new product, such as
in 2Na+Cl2→2NaCl

- Decomposition reactions, when single reactant breaks down to form 2 or more

products, such as in 2H₂O₂ → 2H₂O+O₂
- Single-replacement reactions, when single element replaces a similar element of an
adjacent reactant compound, such as in 2K + 2H2O → 2KOH + H.
-Double-replacement reactions, when two ionic compounds exchange ions, producing
2 new ionic compounds, such as in (NH4)2SO4 + Ba(NO3)2 → NH4NO3 + BaSO4
Combustion reactions, when A single element or compound combines with oxygen
gas releasing energy. This rapid oxidation is called burning, and can sometimes make
explosions, such as in CH4(g) + 2 O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2 H2O(g)

Chemical reactions are also further classified as endothermic or exothermic.

Endothermic Reaction Exothermic

Reaction

A reaction that the A reaction that

system absorbs energy releases energy
 from its surrounding in from the system in
the form of heat. the form of heat.

The energy is absorbed The energy is

from the surrounding released from the
into the reaction system to its
environment.

Energy in the form of Energy is released

heat as heat, electricity,
light or sound.

Melting ice, Rusting iron, settling,

evaporation, cooking, chemical bonds,
gas molecules, explosions, nuclear
photosynthesis are a fission are a few
few examples

Endothermic reactions have many applications in our everyday life, a common example
for an endothermic reaction is an instant cold pack that has separate compartments of
water and solid ammonium nitrate placed in a plastic bag, when they start a reaction it
absorbs heat from its surroundings, these packs are commonly used for athletes
injuries. The same can be said for an exothermic reaction, but with a reusable hot pack
that uses sodium acetate crystallization, By bending the metal disc in the bag, the
sodium acetate crystallizes and gives out heat.
There are many ways to know if a chemical reaction is occurring. Some things to look
for:
Color Change, such as in metal rusting or food rotting. Production of an odor, such as in
burning. Change of Temperature. Evolution of a gas or formation of bubbles. Precipitate
or formation of a solid, such as formation of crystals. Release of light, such as in fire or
explosions.
All chemical reactions involve energy. Energy is used to break bonds in reactants, and
energy is released when new bonds form in products. An example is the burning and
release of heat and light in a home furnace, some chemical reactions require less
energy to break bonds in reactants than is released when bonds form in products. In
other chemical reactions, it takes more energy to break bonds in reactants than is
released when bonds form in products.
Energy changes during chemical reactions
Energy changes occur because of the difference in energy between reactants, this
energy is usually heat energy. Energy is releases when bonds break (usually in the form
of heat or light) and absorbed when bonds break. Products of chemical reactions
usually have less energy than the reactants, meaning that some energy is dissipated
into the air after a reaction.
What factors affect the rate of chemical reactions?
The Chemical Nature of the Reacting Substances can affect the rate making Reactions
that appear similar have different rates under the same conditions, depending on the
identity of the reactants. For example, when small pieces of the metals iron and sodium
are exposed to air, the sodium reacts completely with air overnight, whereas the iron is
barely affected. The active metals calcium and sodium both react with water to form
hydrogen gas and a base. Yet calcium reacts at a moderate rate, whereas sodium
reacts so rapidly that the reaction is almost explosive.

The Physical States of the Reactants

A chemical reaction between two or more substances requires intimate contact between
the reactants. When reactants are in different physical states, or (solid, liquid, gaseous,
dissolved), the reaction takes place only at the interface between the phases. Consider
the reaction between a solid phase and either a liquid or gaseous phase. Compared
with the reaction rate for large solid particles, the rate for smaller particles will be greater
because the surface area in contact with the other reactant phase is greater. For
example, large pieces of iron react more slowly with acids than they do with finely
divided iron powder.

Temperature of the Reactants

Chemical reactions typically occur faster at higher temperatures. Food can spoil quickly
when left on the kitchen counter. However, the lower temperature inside of a refrigerator
slows that process so that the same food remains fresh for days. Gas burners, hot
plates, and ovens are often used in the laboratory to increase the speed of reactions
that proceed slowly at ordinary temperatures. For many chemical processes, reaction
rates are approximately doubled when the temperature is raised by 10 °C.

Concentrations of the Reactants

The rates of many reactions depend on the concentrations of the reactants. Rates
usually increase when the concentration of one or more of the reactants increases. For
example, calcium carbonate deteriorates as a result of its reaction with the pollutant
sulfur dioxide. The rate of this reaction depends on the amount of sulfur dioxide in the
air.
Indications of a Chemical Reaction

1. Heat or Light Emissions

If a reaction emits heat or light, that is an indication that energy has been released from
the reaction, such as in a burning or combustion

2. Change in Color

A change in color is an indication of a chemical reaction, such as in rusting of a metal or

food rotting.

3. Gas Formation

When substances react and bubbles or a vapor appears, this is an indication that a
chemical reaction is occurring. An example of this is when baking soda and vinegar react
violently to produce carbon dioxide gas in the famous volcano experiment, another example
is when carbonic acid breaks down, it turns into CO2 and water.

4. Precipitate Formation

A precipitate is a solid product that forms as a result of a chemical reaction between

liquid reactants. An example of a precipitate is yellow cadmium sulfide, which is
produced when water solutions of ammonium sulfide and cadmium nitrate are
combined.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_reaction
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/chemical-processes/thermochemistry/a/
endothermic-vs-exothermic-reactions#:~:text=An%20exothermic%20process
%20releases%20heat,heat%20and%20cools%20the%20surroundings.%E2%80%9D
https://www.carolina.com/knowledge/2020/02/11/classifying-chemical-reactions
https://sciencing.com/seven-things-indicate-chemical-change-occurring-12107532.html
https://byjus.com/chemistry/endothermic-exothermic-reactions-difference/#:~:text=In
%20simple%20terms%2C%20the%20endothermic,the%20surrounding%20of%20the
%20system.
https://www.aplustopper.com/applications-exothermic-endothermic-reactions-everyday-
life/
https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-middle-school-physical-science-flexbook-2.0/
section/5.25/primary/lesson/conservation-of-energy-in-chemical-reactions-ms-ps/
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/chemistry--of-life/chemical-bonds-and-
reactions/a/chemical-reactions-article
https://www.thoughtco.com/types-of-chemical-reactions-604038