Chemical equations are important tools in chemistry. They show us how matter is conserved. When a chemical reaction happens, atoms don't just appear or vanish. Instead, they rearrange to form new substances. This idea is known as the law of conservation of mass, which means that the total number of atoms stays the same before and after a reaction.

The Structure of Chemical Equations

Every chemical equation has three main parts:

• Reactants: The substances that start the reaction.
• Products: The new substances created by the reaction.
• Coefficients: Numbers placed in front of the substances to show how many molecules are involved.

For example, the balanced equation for burning methane looks like this:

$\text{CH}_4 + 2 \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + 2 \text{H}_2\text{O}$

This means that one molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of oxygen to make one molecule of carbon dioxide and two molecules of water. It shows that the total number of each type of atom stays the same.

Stoichiometry and Mass Relationships

Stoichiometry comes from balanced chemical equations and helps chemists figure out how much of each reactant and product they need. From the previous example, we can see that:

• 1 mole of CH$_4$ will make 2 moles of H$_2$O.
• 2 moles of O$_2$ are needed to fully react with 1 mole of CH$_4$.

This part of chemistry, called stoichiometry, shows how mass is conserved. This means that the total mass of the reactants before the reaction equals the total mass of the products after the reaction.

Conclusion

In short, chemical equations are more than just words and symbols. They show us the important idea of matter conservation. By showing every atom involved and using stoichiometry, chemists can understand how matter acts during reactions. This helps us learn more about the chemical processes in our universe.