Chemical Formulas

[NueVaaj]

How do you create a chemical product by the given reactants?

[fiction-factory]

I have been able to help with your previous questions but for this one I'm not sure what you are asking and how it relates to the title of your question. Please can you clarify the question. Are you asking how to balance an equation, for example?

[NueVaaj]

I was given some formulas but I had to figure out the product of them. I know how to balance a formula, but forgot how to write out the product with only the reactants given. For example, Ca+CuSO(4) -->, what would be the product of this formula?

[fiction-factory]

Ca(s) + CuSO4(aq) => CaSO4(aq) + Cu++(aq)?

[Tilly2]

Is that Calcium Copper Sulphate?

[fiction-factory]

Two products, tilly- calcium sulphate and copper.

[Tilly2]

Thank you, FF.

[NueVaaj]

Thank you. But if you don't mind explaining how you go the product. How do you know what element is to be separated? And how do you know the form? This is what I'm having trouble with.

[fiction-factory]

calcium is more reactive than copper so will displace it- ie will take the sulphate ions.

Old spelling habits die hard- when I take science lessons now I have to try to remember that it seems to be spelt sulfur and sulfate now

[Tilly2]

Not to mention 'formulae'. :-)

[gingejbee]

...although you're not going to get a solution of calcium sulfate in the above example....it's insoluble (it's gypsum or plaster of Paris)

[fiction-factory]

It's not my striongest subject and it's not easy to explain all the detail here but you need to think about the components and their valencies and what ionic forms they are in as well as levels of reactivity to see what might displace what.
What course are you doing- this is GCSE Chemistry type stuff?

[fiction-factory]

Yes Tilly. If I say formulae now I get blank looks so have to remember to change it to formulas.
And when talking about graphs if I write the word AXES pupils try to 'correct' my spelling.
And data can be singular now.

[Tilly2]

Complicated, innit?

[jno]

agenda's been singular for a while, so data isn't /aren't a problem. My old maths teacher seemed to work on the basis that formulae was singular, formulas plural.

However, I digress. Sorry.

[NueVaaj]

Thank you. Is there a way to determine how one element is more reactive than the other? Sorry about the questions, I just want be able to understand it better so I can do it automatically. My class is just called Chemistry.

[Zacs-Master]

‘Sall about her valence electrons, mate.

[Zacs-Master]

Yer.

[fiction-factory]

You need to look at the periodic table and the patterns within groups and going across (periods)

[Peter Pedant]

// How do you create a chemical product by the given reactants?//

you are just beginning inorganic chemistry - and need to read really the chapter that this relates to

calcium is reactive ( according to your book ) and copper is less so and so one will reduce the other and release energy.

actually later on you will learn this is a red-ox reaction and there is more to it....

at your stage begin at the beginning - which really means reading the book first ....

[Peter Pedant]

// Is there a way to determine how one element is more reactive than the other?//

yup there surely is.....

by starting at page 1 of your setbook and reading thro to the final page ( and perhaps then even doing it AGAIN)

can any one AB say kal-mazoo and get you to understand reactivity of elements and how they relate to the periodic table ?
Nope we all learnt it from the book ....