Homework Help: Science: Chemistry: Chemical Reactions

Learning about chemical reactions is one of the first lessons in chemistry. A chemical reaction, by definition, is a process in which one set of substances turns into a new set of substances. A simple example of a chemical reaction is when you make a chocolate cake. Your ingredients include cake mix, eggs, and oil. Each of the three ingredients together form the cake, but by themselves, they are completely different.

Chemical reactions take place in living organisms everyday. Every time you take a breathe of air, a chemical reaction occurs in your body. It is the reaction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). When carbon dioxide hits the water in your bloodstream, another chemical reaction occurs. The result is carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). The chemical reaction can also be written in notation:

CO₂ + H₂0 H₂CO₃

In many chemical reactions, a catalyst is involved. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without using energy. Catalysts are very important because without them, our body would take in more carbon dioxide than could be released.

It should be noted that the reaction does not go to completion (or your blood would fluctuate in pH constantly). The CO2 + H20 reaction is heavily favored to the left in terms of equilibrium. Evidence of this is soda pop. If you leave it untopped, it goes flat (H2CO3 ---> CO2 + H20).

Homework Help: Science: Chemistry

For Further Reading