Synthesis.Watkins

Synthesis

Synthesis is when two or more elements or compounds combine to form a more coplex compound. It is often shown as: A + B --> AB

In real life though you would not see A + B --> AB, instead you would see the letters substituted with elements or compounds. An equation that might be seen is; Magnesium is bonded with Oxygen to form Magnesium Oxide. The first step after getting the sentence is putting it into an equation; so the sentence above would become:

Mg + O2 ---> MgO

That is a good start but the next thing that needs to be done now is balance the equation. To do that we need to make it so that there is the same amount of each element on the left and right sides of the equation.

Mg + O2 ---> MgO

-There are two oxygen atoms on the left but only one on the right. To fix that we need to put a "2" in front of the "Mg" on the right.

Mg + O2 ---> 2MgO

- We're almost there because the oxygen atoms are balanced but now the magnesium atoms have become unbalanced. To correct that problem a "2" needs to be put in front of the "Mg" on the right side just as we did on the left.

So the final Balanced equation looks like:

2Mg + O2 ---> 2MgO

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