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4: Simple Chemical Reactions

  • Page ID
    98495
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    • 4.1: Chemical Reaction Equations
    • 4.2: Aqueous Solutions
      Aqueous solutions can be classified as polar or nonpolar depending on how well they conduct electricity. Most chemical reactions are carried out in solutions, which are homogeneous mixtures of two or more substances. In a solution, a solute (the substance present in the lesser amount) is dispersed in a solvent (the substance present in the greater amount). Aqueous solutions contain water as the solvent, whereas nonaqueous solutions have solvents other than water.
    • 4.3: Precipitation Reactions
    • 4.4: Acid-Base Reactions
      An acidic solution and a basic solution react together in a neutralization reaction that also forms a salt. Acid–base reactions require both an acid and a base. In Brønsted–Lowry terms, an acid is a substance that can donate a proton and a base is a substance that can accept a proton. Acids also differ in their tendency to donate a proton, a measure of their acid strength. The acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution is described quantitatively using the pH scale.
    • 4.5: Redox Reactions
      Oxidation–reduction reactions are balanced by separating the overall chemical equation into an oxidation equation and a reduction equation. In oxidation–reduction reactions, electrons are transferred from one substance or atom to another. We can balance oxidation–reduction reactions in solution using the oxidation state method, in which the overall reaction is separated into an oxidation equation and a reduction equation. The outcome of these reactions can be predicted using the activity series.


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