Chemical equation definition
Answer
- A chemical equation is the symbolic representation of a chemical reaction in the form of symbols and formulae, wherein the reactant entities are given on the left-hand side and the product entities on the right-hand side.
- As an example, the equation for the reaction of hydrochloric acid with sodium can be denoted:
- 2 HCl + 2 Na → 2 NaCl + H
2
- This equation would be read as "two HCl plus two Na yields two NaCl and H two." But, for equations involving complex chemicals, rather than reading the letter and its subscript, the chemical formulas are read using IUPAC nomenclature. Using IUPAC nomenclature, this equation would be read as "hydrochloric acid plus sodium yields sodium hydrochloride and hydrogen gas."
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