Why are chemical

reactions
important???
 Chemical reactions allow
living things (cells, animals,
people, insects) to grow,
develop, reproduce, and
adapt.
 What is a chemical
reaction??
 The process in which atoms
or groups of atoms in
substances are reorganized
into different substances.
How do you know when a chemical
reaction has occurred???
 Change in appearance
 Production of heat or light
 Formation of a new gas, liquid, or
solid
Why Chemical Formulas?
 Scientists write chemical formulas to
describe the substances in a reaction
with arrows indicating the process of
change.

CO2 + 2H2O → CH4 + 2 O2

carbon dioxide and water = Methane + oxygen
What is that the chemical equation
for?!?!?
CO2 + 2H2O → CH4 + 2 O2
It’s a fart!
 The chemical equation shows the
reactants, or the starting substances,
on the left side of the arrow.

CO2 + 2H2O →
Carbon dioxide and water
 The products are the substances
formed during the reaction. These
are the end results of the reaction
and so are shown to the right side of
the arrow.

→ CH4 + 2 O2
Methane and Oxygen
 The arrow is read as
“yields” or “react to
form.”
 Remember, matter
cannot be created or
destroyed! (The Law
of Conservation of
Mass)
Therefore, it is important that
we balance our chemical
equations!!!
 All chemical equations must show
this balance of mass (things must be
equal on each side.)
 But, HOW???

 Coefficients are used to

make the number of atoms
on each side of the arrow
equal!!!
 Let’s Try One!!!

 C6H12O6+O2
CO2+H2O

Glucose and Oxygen react to form

Carbon Dioxide and Water
 C6H12O6+O2
 On the reactant side, how many
carbons do we have???
 C6H12O6+O2
 How many hydrogen atoms do
we have?
 C6H12O6+O2
 And how many Oxygen
atoms??
•Don’t forget to add all of them
together…
 So we must have 6 Carbon, 12
Hydrogen, and 8 Oxygen on the
Products side.
  CO2 + H2O
Carbon Dioxide and Water
What coefficient would need to be
placed in front of the carbon to make
it 6?
 6CO2 + H2O
So we must have 6 Carbon, 12 Hydrogen, and
8 Oxygen on the Products side.
 But now you must multiply the
coefficient by the # of Oxygen which
is 2. 6x2=12… Hang on to this one.
 How many Hydrogen do we need?
 6CO2 + H2O
So we must have 6 Carbon, 12 Hydrogen, and 8 Oxygen
on the Products side.

 How can we have 12 Hydrogen???

 Multiply the hydrogen by the
coefficient…
 So,
C6H12O6+__ O26CO2+6H2O
 On Reactants Side:  On Products Side:
 6 Carbon  6 Carbon
 12 Hydrogen  12 Hydrogen
 8 Oxygen  18 Oxygen
 What # + 6 = 18????

 12!!!
 Can we multiply O2 by

any number and get

12???
 Balanced Equation is…
 C6H12O6 + 6O2 
6CO2 + 6H2O
 How do reactions occur???
 The key to starting a chemical
reaction is energy. Think baking
cookies!!!
 Most compounds in living
things cannot undergo
chemical reactions without
energy!!!
 Activation Energy is…
 The minimum amount of energy
needed for reactants to form
products in a chemical reaction.
 Ex: Burning a candle
 Animal Chemistry- Our Catalysts
 Remember, a catalyst is a substance
that lowers the activation energy
needed to start a chemical reaction.
 Also, remember that the special
proteins that act as biological
catalysts are called enzymes.
 What should I know???
 All chemical reactions in living things
need catalysts called ENZYMES.
 The reactants that bind to the
enzyme in a chemical reaction are
called substrates.
 And, the specific location where a
substrate binds on an enzyme is
called the active site.
 Once the substrate binds to the
enzyme, bonds in the reactants are
broken down quite easily and new
bonds form- the substrates react to
form products.