Understanding chemical reactions through combustion
Description of chemical reactions.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
-
© MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about Albert Einstein's theory of Brownian motion and how he derived the size of atoms.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Media Editor: Lauren Sims
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.A mongoose (Herpestes species) attacking an Asian cobra (Naja naja).
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Two people making change for five dollars as a representation of how matter is conserved in a chemical reaction.
-
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.One chemical bond sees electrons transferred from one atom to another.
-
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Discover the chemistry concepts, including acid-base neutralization and Gay-Lussac's Law, behind common magic tricks.
-
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about the chemistry of lighting a match.
News •
A hidden limit of space and time could unlock electronics 100,000 times faster
• Nov. 7, 2026, 6:35 PM ET (Science Daily)
Fluorescent reaction maps reveal how catalyst activity changes with operating conditions
• Oct. 20, 2026, 3:50 PM ET (Phys.org)
New research shows how microplastics and water interactions could lead to cell damage
• Oct. 17, 2026, 8:00 AM ET (Los Angeles Times)
Transcript
NARRATOR: A chemical reaction is when two or more substances combine or interact; they are known as reactants. The substances may change as the elements within them may recombine into new substances.
Here is an example of a reaction called combustion. It uses oxygen from the air and cellulose from the match as the reactants. After we strike the match, the chemical reaction in the burning process creates three new substances from the reactants: water, in the form of water vapor; carbon dioxide, an invisible gas; and carbon, which we see as soot or black ashes.
Combustion is one well-known type of chemical reaction. We may witness many others in everyday life, but we often take them for granted.
Here is an example of a reaction called combustion. It uses oxygen from the air and cellulose from the match as the reactants. After we strike the match, the chemical reaction in the burning process creates three new substances from the reactants: water, in the form of water vapor; carbon dioxide, an invisible gas; and carbon, which we see as soot or black ashes.
Combustion is one well-known type of chemical reaction. We may witness many others in everyday life, but we often take them for granted.
Last Modification: