Predicting the products of chemical reactions involves understanding the type of reaction that is occurring and being able to determine the ionic charge. Here I will focus on single, double replacement and combustion reactions. These are the main types that you will need to be able to predict products for. In another video I will cover combination and decomposition reactions.

Note that the equations in this video are not necessarily balanced!

Useful tools:
Find the charge of the ions: https://youtu.be/N4N1Njh7nCo
Predict decomposition Rxns: https://youtu.be/MIg8LGlYBbQ
Predict combined Rxns: https://youtu.be/coWgN5qZIXA
Chemical Reaction Types Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?listPLZR1BGWBaZ1wjBsSmAMpWTEflHMUM8rhW
Balancing equations: https://youtu.be/zmdxMlb88Fs

****(Single replacement reactions*****

Metal replaces metal:

Use the series of activities to determine if a metal can replace another metal in a compound. Metals higher in the activity series can displace metals lower in the series.
For example, if you have zinc (Zn) and copper sulfate (CuSO4), you can look at the activity series to see if Zn can replace Cu. If so, the reaction could go as follows:
Zn(s) CuSO4(aq) ZnSO4(aq) Cu(s)
b. Metal reacting with an acid:

Likewise, use the series of activities to see if a metal can replace hydrogen in an acid. If the metal is higher in the activity series than hydrogen, a reaction will occur.
For example, with hydrochloric acid (HCl) and zinc (Zn), the reaction would be:
Zn(s) 2HCl(aq) ZnCl2(aq) H2(g)

*****Double replacement reactions*****

Precipitation reaction:

Consult a solubility table to determine if products will form a solid (precipitate). If the combination of ions results in an insoluble compound, a precipitation reaction occurs.

For example, if you mix silver nitrate (AgNO3) and sodium chloride (NaCl), the reaction would be:

AgNO3(aq) NaCl(aq) AgCl(s) NaNO3(aq)

Neutralization reaction:

When an acid reacts with a base, a neutralization reaction occurs, forming water and a salt.

For example, in the reaction between hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH):

HCl(aq) NaOH(aq) H2O(l) NaCl(aq)

*****Combustion reactions*****

Combustion reactions involve a substance reacting with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. For hydrocarbons, as in the combustion of methane (CH4):

CH4(g) 2O2(g) CO2(g) 2H2O(g)

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