synthesis,+slevey+2008.

//synthesis//.
//definition:// during synthesis, two or more substances are combined to produce a single, more complex substance. this is one of the easiest chemical reactions, along with decomposition.

//generic form of equation:// this reaction can be represented by this equation: A + B  à AB.

//an example of synthesis:// dinitride and dioxide **react to produce** dinitride tetroixide. (the **react to produce** in this equation is the same as the '  à ' in a chemical equation.)

//changing the sentence into a chemical equation:// in order to change this sentence into a chemical equation or formula, you have to know each element's atomic symbol. nitrogen is represented by N, and oxygen is represented by O. after you have the atomic symbols, look at the number prefixes before eact element. __di__nitride and __di__oxide react to produce __di__nitride __tetr__oixide. //di// means two, and //tetra// means four (these number prefixes will turn into subscripts for the elements in the equation). so, the final chemical equation will turn out like this: N2 + O2  à N2 O4

//so how do we balance this new chemical equation?:// in order to balance an equation, there needs to be an equal amount of each element on either side of the equation. so, to make life easier, we'll do a couple steps to figure this out. 1. copy the equation down. N2 + O2  à N2 O4

2. underneath the equation, make a column of each atomic symbol. on either side, fill in how many atoms there are of each element. N2 + O2  à N2 O4 2 N 2 2 O 4

3. see how there are an even amount of nitrogens on either side, but there are twice as many oxygens on the product side than on the reactants side? this can easily be fixed. we're going to add a //coefficient// to one of the atomic symbols. N2 + 2O2  à N2 O4 notice how there was a 2 placed before the oxygen on the reactants side. this means that you take the coefficient and you multiply it by the amount of atoms of that element (**remember to never change the subscript, just the coefficient**!). so now, there are four oxygens on either side. the equation is balanced!

an atom of dinitrogen tetroxide.

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