Stoichiometry is the relationship between the weights of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions.
A stoichiometric diagram of the combustion reaction of methane
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an energy change as new products are generated. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking of chemical bonds between atoms, with no change to the nuclei, and can often be described by a chemical equation. Nuclear chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that involves the chemical reactions of unstable and radioactive elements where both electronic and nuclear changes can occur.
A thermite reaction using iron(III) oxide. The sparks flying outwards are globules of molten iron trailing smoke in their wake.
Antoine Lavoisier developed the theory of combustion as a chemical reaction with oxygen.
As seen from the equation CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O, a coefficient of 2 must be placed before the oxygen gas on the reactants side and before the water on the products side in order for, as per the law of conservation of mass, the quantity of each element does not change during the reaction.
Sodium chloride is formed through the redox reaction of sodium metal and chlorine gas
