Chemical Literacy and Writing Chemical Reactions

Book excerpt: Writing chemical reactions in general and inorganic chemistry is not a trivial task. However, writing reactions for chemical processes correctly is a clear indicator of proficiency and competence in a subject. Unfortunately, very few students grasp the concept of the correct writing of chemical reactions quickly, and so are unable to move through topics of general, analytical, and inorganic chemistry freely. Because the ability to write and balance different types of chemical reactions is a fundamental issue, this becomes a key question of chemical literacy. The successful writing of chemical reactions includes two components: the prediction of products of these reactions and their possible variations, and balancing these reactions providing a material balance between starting compounds and reactions’ products. This book explores that element of the teaching of the fundamentals of chemical literacy: writing complete equations of chemical reactions and balancing them. It contains 49 figures, 22 schemes and 12 tables, and 93 problems (with answers). This book will be very useful for high school students interested in chemical sciences, higher education teachers, students in colleges and universities majoring in chemistry and biochemistry, and chemistry professional working in industry. It also contains information about properties of the most common elements and applications of a variety of their chemical compounds.