Reactant 1 + Reactant 2 Product 1 + Product 2 6.1 WORD EQUATIONS We can represent what happens in a chemical reaction in terms of a word equation. We can use symbols in order to eliminate words:   + : and / with : react to form The reactants (starting substances) are found to the left of the arrow and the products (resulting substances) are found to the right of the arrow. Reactant 1 + Reactant 2 Product 1 + Product 2

For example, we can take a piece of magnesium ribbon, shine it, and place it into hydrochloric acid. The result is that a bubbling can be observed. Hydrogen is produced (Test for hydrogen) as well as a white solid dissolved in the solution, magnesium chloride. The word equation for this reaction is:   magnesium + hydrochloric acid -> hydrogen + magnesium chloride Example: The reaction that occurs when a coil of copper wire is placed in a beaker of silver nitrate solution produces silver and copper (II) nitrate. The word equation for this chemical reaction is:   copper + silver nitrate -> silver + copper (II) nitrate