Reactants
Definition
Reactants are substances that start a chemical reaction. They interact with each other to form new substances called products.
Analogy
Think of reactants as ingredients in a recipe. You start with individual items (like eggs, flour, and sugar), but when you mix them together and bake them, they transform into something entirely new (a cake).
Related terms
Products: These are the end result of a chemical reaction; using our analogy, this would be the delicious cake you get after baking your ingredients.
Catalyst: A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed itself. It's like adding baking powder to your cake mix - it helps everything rise faster!
Chemical Equation: This represents a chemical reaction where reactants are shown on the left side and products on the right; think of it as your recipe card for making that cake!
"Reactants" appears in:
Subjects (1)
Study guides (12)
AP Chemistry - 4.1 Introduction for Reactions
AP Chemistry - 4.3 Representations of Reactions
AP Chemistry - 5.1 Reaction Rates
AP Chemistry - 5.2 Introduction to Rate Law
AP Chemistry - 5.6 Reaction Energy Profile
AP Chemistry - 5.8 Reaction Mechanism and Rate Law
AP Chemistry - 5.9 Steady-State Approximation
AP Chemistry - 5.11 Catalysis
AP Chemistry - 6.2 Energy Diagrams of Reactions
AP Chemistry - 7.3 Reaction Quotient and Equilibrium Constant
AP Chemistry - 7.9 Introduction to Le Châtelier’s Principle
AP Chemistry - 7.12 Common Ion Effect
Additional resources (1)
Practice Questions (5)
If the chemical reaction has a positive ΔH°, what change in temperature produces extra reactants?
Which of the following best describes the formula ΔHrxn = ΣnΔHf(prod) - ΣmΔHf(reactants)?
A reaction is said to proceed towards equilibrium that is known to have a very large equilibrium value. It is known to start with only the reactants, and it is said to proceed accordingly with no external disturbances. Which of the following would be true of the concentration of both the reactants on a graph?
The rate of the forward reaction is known to be 0.4 M over a certain period of time. Furhtermore, the reaction only started with the necessary reactants. If one of the products has three moles in the reaction, what will be the net change in concentration?
The equilibrium constant for a reaction at a specified temperature is found to be 1.8*10^5, and energy is released when the reaction occurs. Which of the following will allow for the reactants to be favored?
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