Write the chemical equation for the reaction between magnesaum metal and hot water.

A chemical reaction is a process in which substances, known as reactants, transform into entirely new substances referred to as products. During this transformation, the atoms of the reactants are rearranged through breaking and forming chemical bonds to create products with different properties.

For instance, when magnesium metal reacts with hot water, a chemical reaction occurs. The magnesium atoms interact with the water molecules (H₂O), resulting in the formation of magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂) and hydrogen gas (H₂). This change signifies a chemical reaction because it involves a chemical transformation leading to new substances being produced.

Stoichiometry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships between the substances involved in a chemical reaction. It is based on the conservation of mass and the concept of the mole, which is a unit used to measure the amount of substance.

To perform stoichiometric calculations, one must understand the mole ratio derived from the coefficients of each substance in a balanced chemical equation. For example, in a balanced equation of magnesium reacting with water, stoichiometry would allow one to calculate how many moles of hydrogen gas are produced from a certain amount of magnesium metal or how much magnesium is required to react with a given amount of water.

In any chemical reaction, the reactants are the starting substances present before the reaction occurs, while the products are the substances formed as a result of the reaction.

In the reaction between magnesium and hot water, magnesium (Mg) and water (H₂O) are the reactants, and magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂) along with hydrogen gas (H₂) are the products. Balancing the reaction equation is crucial as it ensures that the amount of reactants and products is consistent with the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. For teaching purposes, this balance helps students appreciate the need to account for every atom involved in the reaction and serves as the foundation for more advanced concepts in chemistry, such as reaction yield and theoretical versus actual yield analysis.