Inorganic chemistry

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Inorganic Chemistry is the study of substances that are not organic, and thus are largely compounds with no carbon. As such, many very important products can be made of substances defined as inorganic. Silicon chips, transistors, LCD screens, fiber-optic cables, and many catalysts are the result of reseach in inorganic chemistry.

Inorganic chemical reactions are divided into 4 categories: combination reactions, decomposition reactions, single displacement reactions, and double displacement reactions.

Combination reactions involve a reaction where there is only 1 product, while there are 2 or more reactants. An example of this is the formation of water vapor when hydrogen and oxygen gas is reacted. Both hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water as the sole product.

2H2 + O2 → 2H2O

Decompostion reactions involve the breaking down of a complex molecule into numerous simpler molecules. Such as the decomposition of Calcuim Carbonate into Calcium Oxide and Carbon Dioxide gas:

CaCO3 → CaO + CO2

Single replacement reactions involve the replacement of one atom in a compound by another atom. This is usually written as

A + BX → AX + B

An example is the substitution of calcium for sodium in sodium chloride.

2NaCl + Ca → 2Na + CaCl2

Double replacement reactions involve two elements switching out of compounds to replace each other.

CaCl2 + 2 AgNO3⇒ Ca(NO3)2 + 2 AgCl

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