combustion,+slevey+2008.

//combustion.//
//definition:// combustion is when a substance rapidly combines with oxygen to produce one or more oxides.

//an example of double combustion:// dicarbon dihydrogen and dioxygen **react to produce** carbon dioxide and water. (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. carbon is represented by C, hydrogen is represented by H, oxygen is represented by O, and water is represented by H2O. so, the final chemical equation will turn out like this: C2H2 + O2  à CO2 + H2O. //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. C2H2 + O2  à CO2 + H2O.

2. underneath the equation, make a column of each atomic symbol. on either side, fill in how many atoms there are of each element. C2H2 + O2  à CO2 + H2O. 2 C 1 2 H 2 2 O 3

3. so now, we'll add coefficients to make the number of each element on either side even. 2C2H2 + 5O2  à 4CO2 + 2H2O. (**remember to never change the subscript, just the coefficient**!). so now, the equation is balanced!

carbon dioxide.

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