Reactants and Products

[Talia Leano 2H]

Is the left side always reactants and the right products? If for example, a problem starts with adding whatever is on the right side into an empty beaker then does that make that the reactants or is it still the product?

[Aliya 1H]

Yes, the left will be reactants and the right will be products. Remember that reactions we're looking at are going to be reversible, so things can dissociate back into its "reactants".

[Varsha Ravi 3E]

In a reaction there's two implicit reactions: the forward reaction and the reverse. Depending on the reactants specified in a question, it determines whether we are analyzing the forward or reverse reaction. Though the reactions are related (one is the inverse of the other), they are both different, and if the question specifies that we are looking at the "products" or a given reaction (the reactants of the reverse reaction), then the reverse reaction is what we use to solve the problem (i.e. in an equilibrium problem, we would set up the reverse reaction for the ICE table).

[Kelly Tran 1J]

Since the reactions are reversible, there are 2 reactions: the forward reaction and the reverse reaction. In the forward reaction, the reactants are on the left side and the products are on the right side. In the reverse reaction, the product of the forward reaction is the reactant of the reverse reaction.

[Jaclyn Schwartz 1I]

Yes! if that how the equation is written, thats how they will be discussed. But with many of these equilibrium equations, you can write the equations either way, but will need to pay attention to K, Q, and other values that will change if you switch directions. Hope that helps!

[Ranen_Chang_2G]

Yes, in terms of equilibrium we note the forward reaction as reactants to products. However, they can be referred to by the reverse reaction which is products to reactants. You should also note the reverse reaction yields the reciprocal of the forward reaction's equilibrium constant.

[Jose Miguel Conste 3H]

Yes left side will always be reactants and right side will always be products, even if the reaction goes both ways, it is important to know this as this will be the Kc with those molecules as reactants and products. If flipped Kc would be the inverse or 1/Kc.

[Armen_Isayan_2L]

Hello! Yes, the left side is always reactants and the right is the product based on equilibrium. In essence, the two reactions, the forward and reverse reaction, the forward reaction is a reactant to the product. However, in the case that the equation is reversed, the yield would be that of the forward reaction, because the reactants are reciprocated to the reverse reaction. Ultimately, the product which would be established in a reverse reaction would come from the forward reaction.

[Abraham De Luna]

Yes, the reactants will always be on the left and the products will always be on the right.

[Ariana Flores 3F]

I think everyone said it well, yes that is technically true. Going off of left vs. right may lead you to a wrong answer though if the reactant and product were some how not in the right order. Just make sure to know it's the proper syntax to reactant --> product