Question

What is a synthesis reaction? How are they used in the real world?

Answer 1

Hint: The answer to this question can be obtained by the basic concept of chemistry which tells us about the balanced chemical equation where two or more reactants react together to form a product and based on this the term ‘synthesis’ can be defined.

Complete step by step answer:
In the previous chapters of the organic chemistry part, we have studied various concepts which deal with the chemical reactions, writing of the balanced chemical equations and also deriving the related concepts based on this chemical equation.
Let us now define the term ‘synthesis’ reaction by seeing the concepts in detail.
- Synthesis in chemistry means the artificial execution of the useful chemical reactions into several or single products. This process occurs when a reactant reacts with each other to give new products.
- But here, in this context, a synthesis reaction is defined as the reaction in which two or more reactants for a single product.
- This reaction is generally represented by,
$$A+B\to C$$
- An example for this reaction can be considered as a reaction between nitrogen and oxygen to produce ammonia. This reaction is basically called as Haber’s process and the reaction is,
$$N_2+3H_2\to 2N{H}_3$$
- In the real world this ammonia produced is used as the fertilizer for the purpose of synthetic use and also used as raw material in the production of nitrates which is used in the manufacture of explosives.

Note: Note that this synthesis reaction is also called the combination reaction and there are many natural synthesis reactions taking place on the Earth which is done by microbial activity or can be by the presence of several components on the Earth occurring naturally.