Skip to main content
Chemistry LibreTexts

5: Chemical Reactions

  • Page ID
    222748
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    • 5.1: Prelude to Chemical Reactions
      The space shuttle-and any other rocket-based system-uses chemical reactions to propel itself into space and maneuver itself when it gets into orbit. The rockets that lift the orbiter are of two different types. Although the solid rocket boosters each have a significantly lower mass than the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks, they provide over 80% of the lift needed to put the shuttle into orbit-all because of chemical reactions.
    • 5.2: The Chemical Equation
      A chemical equation is a concise description of a chemical reaction. Proper chemical equations are balanced.
    • 5.3: Classifying Chemical Reactions
      Chemical reactions are classified into types to help us analyze them and also to help us predict what the products of the reaction will be. The five major types of chemical reactions are synthesis, decomposition, single replacement, double replacement, and combustion.
    • 5.4: Composition, Decomposition, and Combustion Reactions
      A composition reaction produces a single substance from multiple reactants. A decomposition reaction produces multiple products from a single reactant. Combustion reactions are the combination of some compound with oxygen to make oxides of the other elements as products (although nitrogen atoms react to make \(N_2\)).
    • 5.5: Aqueous Solutions and Solubility - Compounds Dissolved in Water
      When ionic compounds dissolve in water, the ions in the solid separate and disperse uniformly throughout the solution because water molecules surround and solvate the ions, reducing the strong electrostatic forces between them. This process represents a physical change known as dissociation. Under most conditions, ionic compounds will dissociate nearly completely when dissolved, and so they are classified as strong electrolytes.
    • 5.6: Precipitation Reactions
      A precipitation reaction is a reaction that yields an insoluble product—a precipitate—when two solutions are mixed. Thus precipitation reactions are a subclass of exchange reactions that occur between ionic compounds when one of the products is insoluble. Because both components of each compound change partners, such reactions are sometimes called double-displacement reactions.
    • 5.7: Writing Chemical Equations for Reactions in Solution- Molecular, Complete Ionic, and Net Ionic Equations
      Precipitation is a process in which a solute separates from a supersaturated solution. In a chemical laboratory it usually refers to a solid crystallizing from a liquid solution, but in weather reports it applies to liquid or solid water separating from supersaturated air.
    • 5.8: Oxidation–Reduction Reactions
      An oxidation-reduction reaction is a reaction that involves the full or partial transfer of electrons from one reactant to another. Oxidation is the full or partial loss of electrons or the gain of oxygen. Reduction is the full or partial gain of electrons or the loss of oxygen. A redox reaction is another term for an oxidation-reduction reaction.


    5: Chemical Reactions is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?