A chemical reaction is a process in which substances, called reactants, undergo a transformation to form new substances, called products. This transformation occurs due to the breaking and forming of chemical bonds between atoms.
Chemical reactions are typically described using a chemical equation, which shows the reactants on the left side and the products on the right side. The reactants and products are separated by an arrow, indicating the direction of the reaction.
There are several types of chemical reactions, including synthesis (combination), decomposition, single displacement, double displacement, and combustion reactions. These reactions can be further classified as either exothermic (release energy) or endothermic (absorb energy) reactions.
The speed of a chemical reaction can be increased by increasing the temperature, increasing the concentration of reactants, decreasing the particle size of reactants, and using a catalyst. These factors all increase the frequency of collisions between reactant particles, leading to a faster reaction rate.
The law of conservation of mass states that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. This means that the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products in a chemical reaction. In other words, the number of atoms of each element must be the same on both sides of the chemical equation.