What is the Difference Between Reactant and Reagent?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The terms "reactant" and "reagent" are often used in the context of chemical reactions, but they have distinct meanings:
- Reactant: A reactant is a substance that is directly involved in a chemical reaction. It initiates the chemical reaction and is consumed during the process. Reactants are the starting materials that undergo changes during a chemical reaction.
- Reagent: A reagent is a compound that is added to a system in order to cause a chemical reaction or to detect, measure, or examine the extent of a reaction. Reagents can be single chemical compounds or mixtures of several chemical compounds. They facilitate the chemical reaction to occur, but they may or may not be consumed in the reaction.
In summary, the main difference between reactants and reagents is that reactants are consumed during a chemical reaction, while reagents may not be consumed and serve to facilitate or measure the reaction.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Reactant and Reagent? Comparative Table: Reactant vs Reagent
Comparative Table: Reactant vs Reagent
The terms "reactant" and "reagent" are often used interchangeably in the context of chemical reactions. However, there are some subtle differences between the two:
| Reactant | Reagent |
|---|---|
| A reactant is a substance that is consumed in the creation of a product in a chemical reaction. | A reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction or added to test if a reaction occurs. |
| Reactants are specifically involved in the chemical reaction, providing the necessary reactivity to produce the desired product. | Reagents can be added to initiate or catalyze a reaction, but they may not necessarily participate in the final product formation. |
| In a balanced chemical equation, reactants are typically found on the left side, representing the substances that are being converted into products. | Reagents, on the other hand, may be present in the equation, but they are often not explicitly listed, as their role may be more about facilitating the reaction or testing the conditions rather than being consumed in the reaction. |
Despite these differences, the distinction between reactants and reagents is not always strictly observed, and the two terms may be used synonymously in some contexts.
Read more:
- Reactants vs Products
- Catalyst vs Reagent
- Limiting Reactant vs Excess Reactant
- Catalytic vs Stoichiometric Reagents
- Heat of Solution vs Heat of Reaction
- Chemical vs Physical Reaction
- Synthesis Reaction vs Substitution Reaction
- Nuclear Reaction vs Chemical Reaction
- Equilibrium Constant vs Reaction Quotient
- Chemical vs Biochemical Reactions
- Reaction Rate vs Reaction Time
- Reaction Rate vs Rate Constant
- Heat of Formation vs Heat of Reaction
- Homogeneous vs Heterogeneous Reactions
- Addition vs Substitution Reaction
- Thermochemical Equation vs Chemical Equation
- Composition vs Reaction Stoichiometry
- Endothermic vs Exothermic Reactions
- Chemical Symbol vs Chemical Formula