What do subscripts in a chemical equation tell about the equation?
the subscripts tell you how many atoms of each kind of element are in the molecule, say you have H2O, this means that there are 2 atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen, likewise, if you have Ca(NO3)2, this means that you have one calcium, two nitrogen, and six oxygen per molecule, the parenthesis tell you that everything inside of them is multiplied by the subscript outside. so N*2 and O3 * 2. you have to understand that the subscript is always referring to the number of atoms of the chemical element that it comes after in the equation, not before.
Why cant you balance a chemical equation by changing subscripts?
When you balance an equation, you're trying to figure out how much of molecule A you need to react with molecule B. If you change the subscripts, you've changed the molecules themselves. I mean, if you're trying to figure out how much water (H2O) you need to pour into a beaker or a reaction, and you hand the equation to somebody and tell them to balance it, and they come back and tell you, "5 mL of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)", that doesn't do you a lot of good.
15) Can the subscripts in a chemical formula be fractions? Explain. Can the coefficients in a balanced...?
no subscripts cant be changed because the tell the ratios of elements in a molecule. the coefficients are ussually not fractions and i would not make it a habit to do so if you change the subscripts changes the chemical so the reaction is not the same
In a chemical formula what do subscripts tell you?
How much of each atom you have. so CO2 means there are 1 carbon + 2 Oxygen.
What does a subscript following an element symbol in a forumla mean?
What does a subscript following an element symbol in a forumla mean? Like in AgNO3 (3 being a subscript). Also what does a subscript following a set of parentheses in a formula mean like the 2 in.. Pb (No3)2 (3 and 2 are subscripts).
Why is oxygen in chemical equations written as O2, when the element itself is just O? Consider alkane+O2→CO2+H2O+energy. Are other elements written this way in chemical equations?
The element, oxygen, can exist in several forms, as atomic oxygen (O), or as the dimer oxygen (O2), or as the trimer ozone (O3). These are three distinct molecules with different structures and reactivities. Each form has a different chemical reactivity. The dimer is by far the most common form since it is much less reactive than the other two. So there are two reasons to write it as O2: 1. O2 is almost always the form of oxygen in a reaction, and 2. One needs to specify the form to describe how it will react. Other elements that usually exist as diatomic molecules are written as the dimer for the same reasons. These elements include all of the halogens.
What is the difference between coefficients and subscripts in chemical equations?
Coefficients - number of separate bits. Subscripts - number of atoms of an element in each bit. Example; 3 H(subscript2)O means three molecules, each of them containing two H and one O O2 is one oxygen molecule containing two atoms. 2O is two separate oxygen atoms.