APPLYING PRINCIPLES OF

CONSERVATION OF MASS TO
CHEMICAL REACTION
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

 Identify the types of chemical reactions.

 Apply the principles of conservation of mass to chemical reactions.
Balance the equations given the formulas for reactants and products.
CHEMICAL EQUATION
AND SYMBOLS
 Chemical Equation
 Chemical equation is the chemists’ shorthand for
describing the sequence of a chemical reaction.

REACTANT PRODUCT
Enter chemical reaction Produced chemical
reaction
 Example:

Reactants

Product
 Writing Chemical Equations
When we write a chemical equation, we take note
the following:

1. Chemical formulas of element symbol are used

instead names.
2. This consists of the reactants (written on the
left side of the equation) and products (written
on the right side).
 3. In between the two reactants or products, the + sign is used in
place of the word and.

• For example, a reaction between solid sodium carbonate and

hydrochloric acid solution forms sodium chloride, water, and carbon
dioxide.  This reaction is written as:
4. To separate the reactants and the products, an arrow (→) is placed in
between them, the tip of an arrow indicates the direction of the reaction and
this represents the word produce, yield or form.

5. There should be the same atoms on the reactant and the product side of
the equation.
 Types of Chemical Reaction
1. Combination or Synthesis Reaction

o two or more substances (either elements or

compounds) react to form one product.
oThe general formula for this reaction:
 o An example of a synthesis reaction is the formation of rust in metals. 

Examples of Synthesis Reactions

a. Metals and Oxygen e. Metal chlorides and
Oxygen
b. Nonmetals and Oxygen f. Metals Oxides and Water
c. Metals and Nonmetals g. Nonmetal Oxides and
Water
 2. Decomposition Reaction

o is a reaction in which single compound is

broken down into two or many smaller
compounds or elements.

o the general formula for this reaction:

 3. Single Replacement (Substitution) Reactions
o An uncombined element displaces an element that
is part of a compound. The reactants in a single-
replacement reaction are always one element and
one compound.
o The general formula for this reaction:
 4. Double-Replacement (or Metathesis) Reactions

o Atoms or ions from two different compounds

replace each other.
oThe general formula for this reaction:
 CHEMICAL EQUATION TYPE OF CHEMICAL REACTION

1. 2CO + O2 → 2CO2 Synthesis Reaction

2. Ca(OH)2 + 2HNO3 → Ca(NO3)2 + 2H2O

Double-Replacement

3. 4H2 + Fe3O4 → 3Fe + 4H2O Single -Replacement

4. 2H2O2 → 2H2O + O2 Decomposition Reaction

5. 2KBr + Cl2→ 2KCl + Br2

Single -Replacement
BALANCING CHEMICAL
EQUATION
•According to the law of conservation of mass, matter cannot be created nor
destroyed. It is only converted from one form to another.

• This can also be applied in chemical equations, where atoms in the reactants
must also be present in the products, except that they are rearranged in a
particular manner.

•In essence, the number of atoms of all elements in a chemical equation should
be the same.

• If they are not, you need to work on providing integer numbers preceding each
reactant or product. These numbers are called coefficients.
The following reminders will be very helpful when dealing with coefficients:
o the subscripts of a compound are fixed, meaning, they should never be
changed, change only the coefficients.
o the coefficients obtained should be the integers (whole numbers) possible in
their lowest term.
o the coefficient multiplies every subscript in the formula. If no subscripts
were seen, it means that the formula has a subscript one.
Guidelines:
1. Write a chemical equation with correct symbols and formulas.
2. Count the number of atoms of each element on each side of the
arrow.
3. Balance the atoms by using coefficients.
4. Check your work by counting the atoms of each element.
 Example 1:
Al + Cl2 → AlCl3

Step 1: Inspect and count each atom in the reactants as well as in the
products.

Reactant Side Product Side

Al = 1 Al = 1
Cl = 2 Cl = 3
Step 2. If some elements are not balanced, add an integer coefficient
in front of the species containing that element.

2Al + 3Cl2 → 2AlCl3

Step 3. Check if all atoms are balanced.

Reactant Side Product Side

Al = 2 Al = 2
Cl = 6 Cl = 6
Example 2:
Ca(OH)2 + H3PO4 → Ca3(PO4)2 + H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

Ca = 1 Ca = 3
H=5 H=2
P=1 P=1
O=6 O=9
3Ca(OH)2 + 2H3PO4 → Ca3(PO4)2 + 6H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

Ca = 3x1 = 3 Ca = 3
H = (3x2) + (2x3) = 12 H = (6x2) = 12
P = 2x1 = 2 P=2
O = (3x2) + (2x4) = 14 O = (4x2) + (6x1) = 14
 Activity 5
1. Zn + HCl → ZnCl2 + H2 6. Li + HNO3 → LiNO3 + H2
2. CH4 + O2 → CO2 + H2O 7.. Al + O2 → Al2O3
3. Fe + NaBr → FeBr3 + Na 8. N2 + O2 + H2O → HNO3
4. P4 + O2→ P2O5 9. Fe + H2O → H2 + Fe3O4
5. NaNO3→ NaNO2 + O2 10. C3H8 + O2 → CO2 + H2O