Reactions

Chemical reactions are the heart of chemistry. This vast and complex subject must be examined in a systematic fashion if we hope to understand it. To this end it is useful to define the components of a reaction as follows. Furthermore, it should be recognized that several competing reactions may take place in a given system, and their relative velocities (rates) will generally influence the composition of the products.

SUBSTRATE usually the largest organic molecule undergoing change | + | REAGENTS organic & inorganic compounds also involved in the reaction | CONDITIONS solvent, temperature, catalysts etc. | PRODUCTS in many cases only the organic products are listed