Question

Differentiate between a ‘word equation’ and a ‘molecular equation’ with a suitable example.

Answer 1

Word equation tells which substances react (take part) in the chemical reaction and which substances are produced whereas molecular equation symbols and molecular formulas are used for both reactants and products.
Example: When zinc reacts with dilute sulphuric acid, both being reactants, products produced are zinc sulphate and hydrogen gas, which are shown as below:
Word equation:
\[\ce{Zinc + Sulphuric acid->Zinc sulphate + hydrogen}\]

Molecular equation:
\[\ce{\underset{\text{Zinc}}{Zn}+\underset{\text{[Sulphuric acid]}}{H2SO4(dil)}->\underset{\text{[Zinc sulphate]}}{ZnSo4}+\underset{\text{[Hydrogen]}}{H2[g]}}\]