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Chapter 7: A Field Guide to Chemical Reactions

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    An image of a word cloud, with the words reaction, molecules, acid, water, base, bond, and energy being the biggest words.

    At last we have arrived at the place where many chemistry courses begin: chemical reactions. In this chapter we will examine what a chemical reaction is, which processes are not chemical reactions, how chemical reactions occur, and how they are characterized. We will also look at how molecules come to be reorganized during a chemical reaction. (In Chapter 8, we will look at reaction behaviors in greater detail.)

    There are a bewildering array of possible reactions, but the truth is that most chemical reactions fall into a rather limited number of basic types. This is a good thing for the student of chemistry. Recognizing types simplifies our task greatly, and enables us to achieve a greater level of confidence with predicting and explaining the outcomes of chemical reactions. Although each particular reaction differs in its specific molecules and conditions (e.g., temperature, solvent, etc.), some common rules apply. Rather than bombard you with a lot of seemingly unrelated reactions, we will introduce you to the two most common reaction types: acid–base (which as we will see can also be classified as nucleophile/electrophile) and oxidation-reduction. Keep in mind that whatever the reaction type, reactions are systems composed of reactants, products, and the environment in which the reaction occurs. Reactants behave quite differently in the gas phase than in an aqueous or non-aqueous system. High or low temperatures also affect behavior. In the next chapter, we will consider how thermodynamics and kinetics come into play in particular reactions, under specific conditions. This will then lead us to consider equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems.

    Thumbnail: Lead (II) iodide precipitates when potassium iodide is mixed with lead (II) nitrate. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported; PRHaney via Wikipedia)

    This page titled Chapter 7: A Field Guide to Chemical Reactions is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Melanie M. Cooper & Michael W. Klymkowsky via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.