Question

Which information is not conveyed by a balanced chemical equation?

Answer 1

Balanced chemical equation

• An equation that has the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the arrow is said to represent a balanced chemical reaction.
• A chemical reaction is represented symbolically in writing by a chemical equation.
• The chemical(s) used as the reactant(s) are listed on the left and the chemical(s) used as the product(s) are listed on the right.
• A chemical reaction requires an equal number of atoms in the reactants and products because, according to the rule of conservation of mass, atoms cannot be generated or destroyed throughout the process.

The information does a balanced chemical equation does not convey

A chemical equation is a way to represent a chemical reaction using substances. A balanced chemical equation is one in which the number of atoms in each of the molecules is the same on both sides of the equation.

• A chemical equation that has the same number of each molecule's atoms on both sides of the arrow is said to be balanced.
• A chemical equation must balance according to the law of conservation of mass. Which states that during a chemical process, mass cannot be either created or removed.
• According to this law, the total mass of the atoms or molecules present on the reactant side and the total mass of those present on the product side should be identical.
• The law of conservation is not applicable if the chemical equation is unbalanced.

Therefore, a balanced equation transmits fundamental information about the formulas of the reactant and product, as well as information about the masses of the reactant and product and the total number of molecules involved in the process. However, it says nothing about whether the reaction is likely to occur.