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Sugar → carbon dioxide + ethanol. This is the word equation for fermentation, the process by which beer and wine are made.

Chemistry - Word Equations (AQA)

Practise writing word equations for reactions. Learn how to set out reactants and products clearly, and use bracketed state words to show what happens to substances.

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Fascinating Fact:

You can add state words in brackets, like (solid), (liquid), (gas), (aqueous) for solutions.

In GCSE Science (Chemistry), you use word equations to show which substances react and which substances are made. Clear word equations help you describe reactions before moving on to full symbol equations.

Key Terms

Word equation: A way of showing a chemical reaction using the names of reactants and products.
Reactant: A substance you start with that is used up during a chemical reaction.
Product: A new substance made during a chemical reaction.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is a word equation in GCSE Chemistry?

A word equation is a sentence that shows which reactants change into which products using only names, for example magnesium + oxygen → magnesium oxide.

How do you write a correct word equation for a reaction?

List all reactants on the left, all products on the right, join them with an arrow, and make sure the names match the actual substances in the reaction.

What do the state words in brackets mean in word equations?

State words like (solid), (liquid), (gas) and (aqueous) show the physical state of each substance so you know whether it is a solid, pure liquid, gas, or solution.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which of the following lists gives the salts that are made from the common lab acids - sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric?

Sulfite, nitrite, chlorate

Sulfite, nitrate, chlorate

Sulfate, nitrate, chlorate

Sulfate, nitrate, chloride

There are chemical reasons for these names but for your exam you just need to remember which acid forms which salt

2 .

What is the missing chemical in the word equation:

sugar → carbon dioxide + _______

Methane

Ethane

Methanol

Ethanol

You should recognise this as being the word equation for fermentation

3 .

What elements are present in the reactants in the following chemical reaction?

Magnesium carbonate + hydrochloric acid → magnesium chloride, water and carbon dioxide?

Mg, C, H, Cl

Mg, C, O, Zn, Cl

Mg, C, O, H, Cl

Mg, Na, H, S, O

You should be able to get this from the names but if you are not sure, you can also check by looking at the products

4 .

Which of the following word equations shows the thermal decomposition of limestone?

calcium oxide → calcium + oxygen

calcium hydroxide → calcium + water

calcium carbonate → calcium hydroxide + carbon dioxide

calcium carbonate → calcium oxide + carbon dioxide

For the exam, you should know that the main chemical of limestone is calcium carbonate and when metal carbonates undergo thermal decomposition they form the metal oxide and release carbon dioxide

5 .

Which of the following is the correct word equation for the reaction of a metal with an acid?

copper + sulfuric acid → copper sulfite + hydrogen

zinc + hydrochloric acid → zinc nitrate + oxygen

sodium + nitric acid → sodium nitrate + oxygen

magnesium + sulfuric acid → magnesium sulfate + hydrogen

Metals above hydrogen in the reactivity series will react with strong acids to form the metal salt and hydrogen. Options 2 and 3 can be discarded immediately as they break the law of conservation of matter. The wrong salt is mentioned in the first option - you get sulfates from sulfuric acid

6 .

What sort of reaction is represented by the following word equation?

iron oxide + carbon monoxide → iron + carbon dioxide?

Thermal decomposition

Reduction

Oxidation

Catalytic cracking

This is one of the reactions taking place in the blast furnace to produce iron

7 .

Which of the following is the correct word equation for the reaction between magnesium carbonate and an acid?

magnesium carbonate + sulfuric acid → magnesium sulfite + water + carbon dioxide

magnesium carbonate + nitric acid → magnesium nitrate + water + carbon dioxide

magnesium carbonate + hydrochloric acid → magnesium chloride + water

magnesium carbonate + nitric acid → magnesium nitrate + hydrogen + carbon dioxide

When answering questions like this, make sure you check that you have the correct salt for the acid as well as the correct other products from the reaction

8 .

What type of reaction is illustrated by the following word equation?

methane + oxygen → carbon monoxide + water

Incomplete combustion

Complete combustion

Incomplete reduction

Complete polymerisation

This word equation represents what happens when any hydrocarbon fuel is burnt in a limited amount of air

9 .

When a reactive metal reacts with water, it forms the metal hydroxide and hydrogen. Which of the following is the correct word equation for a Group 1 metal?

calcium + water → calcium hydroxide + hydrogen

aluminium + water → aluminium hydroxide + hydrogen

lithium + water → lithium hydroxide + hydrogen

magnesium + steam → magnesium hydroxide + hydrogen

The others are not in Group 1 of the periodic table

10 .

Where a metal reacts directly with a non-metal, the name of the resulting chemical ends in which letters?

-ide

-ate

-ite

-ic

Chemical names ending in -ate or -ite always contain oxygen as well as the other non-metal. So if you wrote the word equation carbon + sulphur ? carbon sulfate, you should realise that it is wrong because there is no oxygen on the side of the reactants

Author: Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)

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