What relationships can be determined from a balanced chemical equation?

From a balanced chemical equation the relationships of the amount of reactants and products, either as number of units (moles) or as mass (grams), can be determined.

Explanation:

Since reactants combine in a fixed ratio to form a fixed amount of products, the law of mass conservation permits to state cuantitative relationships between the amounts of rectants and products, and this is represented through a balanced chemical equation.

The balanced chemical equation represents the reactants and products using the chemical composition of each substance (consisting of chemical symbols and subscritps) and shows the relations in which they react or are produced using numbers as coefficients.

For example:

Balanced chemical equation: 1CH₄ (g + 2O₂ (g) → 1CO₂ (g) + 2H₂O (g)

Relationships:

1 molecule CH₄ : 2 molecules O₂ : 1 molecule CO₂ : 2 molecules H₂O

1 mole CH₄ : 2 moles O₂ : 1 mole CO₂ : 2 moles H₂O

16.04 g CH₄ : 64.00 g O₂ : 44.01 g CO₂ : 36.03 g H₂O

(80.04 g reactants = 80.04 g products)