Know the Types of Chemical Reactions that exist

  • Chemical reactions transform chemical substances into others, involving a structural change in molecules or ions.
  • There are several types of chemical reactions, such as synthesis, decomposition, displacement, and redox.
  • Combustion reactions generate gaseous products from flammable reactants and oxygen.
  • Endothermic reactions absorb thermal energy, while exothermic reactions release heat to the environment.

Chemical reactions around us, from the metabolism of food in our bodies to how the light we get from the sun is the result of chemical reactions. Know through this article the Types of Chemical Reactions.

Types of Chemical Reactions

What is a Chemical Reaction?

It can be said that a chemical reaction is any transformation of a set of chemical products into another set, if the original and final substances are the same, it is possible for a change to occur, but not a chemical reaction, a reaction involves a renewal of molecules or ions in a different structure.

Contrast this with one of the Physical changes, where the appearance is altered, but the molecular structure does not change or a nuclear reaction, in which the composition of the atomic nucleus changes, in a chemical reaction, the atomic nucleus does not touch, but electrons can be transferred or shared to break apart and form chemical bonds, both physical and chemical changes.

Types of Reactions Chemistry

The different types of chemical reactions that are commonly known are synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, combustion and acid-base, double displacement, however, such coding is not preferential for each one, for example, an acid-base reaction is also achieved classify as a double displacement reaction.

Synthesis or addition reactions

A synthesis reaction is where several substances are mixed at the same time to form a more complicated one, in a synthesis reaction, two or more chemical species are adjusted to create a more complex product: A + B → AB.

Types of Chemical Synthesis Reactions

In this way, a synthesis reaction is easy to recognize because it has more reactants than products, two or more reactants mix to form a larger aggregate, one way to think of synthesis reactions is that they are the reverse of a decomposition reaction.

decomposition reactions

A decomposition reaction works the opposite of a synthesis reaction, it is a reaction in which a more complex substance is broken down into simpler ones, the decomposition can also be thermal, such as the conversion of carbonic acid into water and carbon dioxide under heating conditions. 

Displacement, substitution, or exchange reactions

Another of the Types of Chemical Reactions is the double displacement, in which the cations of the two reactants change places to form two completely different products.

An example of a double displacement reaction is when barium chloride reacts with magnesium sulfate to form barium sulfate and magnesium chloride. In this reaction, the barium and magnesium cations in the reactants change places to new barium compounds and magnesium.

Ionic reactions

Since electrolytes, i.e. a large part of mineral substances give ions when dissolved in water, the reactions in solution will be interactions between ions (= ionic reactions), therefore it will be possible to predict what can be obtained from of mixtures of dissolved substances based on the criteria of resistance and solubility.

Double substitution reactions

This type of reaction also designated as double replacement reaction, is a type of chemical reaction where two incorporated react and in the same way the positive ions and negative ions of the two substances are placed in another position, forming two new mixtures.

Oxidation-reduction or redox reactions

Redox reactions play an important role in nature and technology, photosynthesis, respiration, fermentation, energy storage in cells are accompanied by electron transfer.

By separating the oxidation and reduction processes, it is possible to convert the energy of the Chemical reactions In electrical energy, this principle underlies the operation of galvanic cells and batteries.

combustion reactions

It is known as a chemical reaction where a flammable reacts with oxygen to cause gaseous products, although it is always initiated by a representation of energy, such as the use of a lighted match to light a fire, the flowing heat supplies energy to conserve energy. reaction.

Types of Combustion Chemical Reactions

A perfect combustion reaction happens when the abundance of oxygen is present and originates especially frequent oxides such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, to ensure complete combustion, the actual oxygen has to be two or three times the theoretical amount calculated by stoichiometry

This kind of reaction occurs when there is not enough oxygen to fully react with the fuel to produce carbon dioxide and water, such an example is when methane burns in a low supply of oxygen to produce a combination of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide. carbon, carbon ash and water. 

Neutralization reactions

Neutralization reactions are special reactions between acids and bases, in which equivalent amounts of these elements react with each other, in this exothermic reaction, the effects cancel each other out and an unbiased solution with a pH of 7 is usually achieved, this fact is usually triggered on purpose in technology, medicine and agriculture, but also often plays a role in nature.

Nuclear reactions

In nuclear physics, this reaction refers to a process where two nuclei or nuclear particles collide, to originate products other than the first particles. At the beginning, a reaction manages to involve the collision of more than two particles, but such an event is very rare.

If the particles collide and separate without changing, the process is called elastic collision instead of reaction, a nuclear reaction can be represented by an equation similar to a chemical equation and balanced analogously, nuclear decays can be represented in the same way .

exothermic reactions

Exothermic reactions are those that diffuse energy to the environment in representation of heat, they are considered hot or burning, more energy is released by establishing chemical bonds than those used to destroy, in an exothermic reaction, the enthalpy change has a negative value.

Exothermic reactions can be written as chemical reactions, exothermic processes can be written in reaction format, but they are more general and often include a combination of chemical reactions or involve nuclear reactions. 

endothermic reactions

Endothermic reactions are Chemical reactions in which the reactants absorb thermal energy from the environment to form products, these reactions lower the temperature of their surrounding area, thus founding a cooling result. 

Physical processes can also be endothermic, ice cubes absorb heat energy from their surroundings and melt to form liquid water (no chemical bonds are broken or formed).

When a chemical bond is broken, it is usually accompanied by a release of energy, similarly, the formation of chemical bonds requires an input of energy, the energy supplied and released can be in various forms (such as heat, light, and electricity).

Do Chemical Reactions Explain the World?

We can tell if a chemical reaction has occurred when one or more of the following things happen:

  • There has been a color change inside the reaction flask.
  • A gas has formed, we usually know a gas has formed when we can see bubbles, this is not to be confused with boiling, which only occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point.
  • A solid has formed, we usually know that some solid material has formed when we can see a muddy or cloudy deposit, or crystal formation.

All the signs listed above are visual or sight recorded, that means we can see them our other senses can also help us tell whether or not there was a chemical reaction:

  • Sometimes chemical changes can be noticed, for example when a new material is formed that has a strong odour.
  • others can be felt Chemical Changes of Matter, for example, when the reaction produces heat.
  • Some chemical changes can be heard, for example when an explosion occurs.


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