Question

Define word equation for chemical reaction by giving an example.

Answer 1

In chemistry, a word equation is a chemical reaction expressed in words rather than chemical formulas. A word equation should state the reactants (starting materials), products (ending materials), and direction of the reaction in a form that could be used to write a chemical equation.

Word Equation Examples
The chemical reaction
$2H_2\left(g\right)+O_2\left(g\right)$ $⟶$ $H_{2}O\left(g\right)$

would be expressed as

hydrogen gas + oxygen gas → steam

as a word equation or as "Hydrogen and oxygen react to form water" or "Water is made by reacting hydrogen and oxygen".