What is the general formula of a chemical equation?

Answer 1

Generally it is

REACTANTS ===> Products

Symbollically it can be written as

A + B = C + D

Where 'A' & 'B' are the reactants and 'C' and 'D' are the products,

NB All Chemical reactions obey the Law of CONSERVATION of MASS. So the total of the masses on both sides of the equation MUST be equal .

This leads to all chemlcal reaction equations MUST be balanced , because each symbol no only represents an element but also represents a mass. ; Different elements have different masses. But overall the tota, ON BOTH sidesL must BE Equal.

e.g.

20 g of A + 15 g of B = 30g of 'C' + 5g of 'D'.

20 + 15 = 30 + 5 = 35

Similarly

2NaOH + H2SO4 = Na2SO4 + 2H2O

Notice there are 2 sodiums(Na) on both sides (2 x 23 = 46)

6 oxygens on both sides (6 x 16 = 96)

4 hydrogens on both sides ( 4 x 1 = 4)

1 sulphur on both ( 32 x 1 = 32).

Since each element has its own Atomic Mass , the numbers of each element are the same on both sides, then it follows that the total masses are the samer on both sides.

Hence the Law of CONSERVATION of MASS is obeyed.

S

Answer 2

The general formula of a chemical equation is:

Reactants → Products

It represents the transformation of reactant substances into product substances during a chemical reaction.