# Every chemical formula and equation in the CBSE syllabus.

Syllabus · CBSE · Classes 7 to 10

A CBSE student meets 79 chemical formulas and 70 chemical equations between Class 7 and Class 10, chapter by chapter. Writing a chemical formula is not explained until Class 9, and writing and balancing a chemical equation not until Class 10 — by which point both have been set in exercises for two years.

**Board**

Central Board of Secondary Education

**Classes covered**

Classes 7 to 10

**Chemical formulas**

79 listed below

**Chemical equations**

70 listed below

**Writing a formula is taught**

Class 9, Chapter III — Atoms and Molecules

**Balancing is taught**

Class 10, Chapter I — Chemical Reactions and Equations

**The gap.** Formulas and equations both appear from Class 7. Writing a formula is explained in Class 9 and balancing in Class 10.

Compiled by the author from the board’s own textbooks, chapter by chapter. Equations are recorded as the textbook sets them; where one is printed without being balanced it is marked as such and left as printed. Have a teacher confirm the list against the current edition before it is sent to a school.

## Class 7

### Chapter V — Acids, Bases and Salts

Chemical formulas — 3

1. 1 HCl
2. 2 NaOH
3. 3 NaCl

| No. | Equation | Condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | HCl NaOH → NaCl H2O | — |

### Chapter VI — Physical and Chemical Changes

Chemical formulas — 6

1. 4 MgO
2. 5 Mg(OH)2
3. 6 CO2
4. 7 Ca(OH)2
5. 8 CaCO3
6. 9 Fe2O3

| No. | Equation | Condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2 | Mg O2 → MgO Printed unbalanced | — |
| 3 | MgO H2O → Mg(OH)2 | — |
| 4 | CO2 Ca(OH)2 → CaCO3 H2O | — |
| 5 | Fe O2 H2O → Fe2O3 Printed unbalanced | — |

The author’s note

- Two of the equations printed in this chapter are not balanced.
- Fe2O3 is named Iron Oxide. The correct name is Iron(III) Oxide, or Ferric Oxide — Iron Oxide is Fe3O4.

## Class 8

### Chapter IV — Metals and Non-metals

Chemical formulas — 6

1. 10 Cu(OH)2
2. 11 CuCO3
3. 12 SO2
4. 13 H2SO3
5. 14 CuSO4
6. 15 ZnSO4

| No. | Equation | Condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 6 | 2Cu H2O CO2 O2 → Cu(OH)2 CuCO3 | — |
| 7 | SO2 H2O → H2SO3 | — |
| 8 | CuSO4 Zn → ZnSO4 Cu | — |

| Formula | Name given | Correct name |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cu(OH)2 | Copper Hydroxide | Copper(II) Hydroxide, or Cupric Hydroxide |
| CuCO3 | Copper Carbonate | Copper(II) Carbonate, or Cupric Carbonate |
| CuSO4 | Copper Sulphate | Copper(II) Sulphate, or Cupric Sulphate |

The author’s note

- Copper shows a variable valency. Without it, the names above cannot be turned back into formulas.

## Class 9

### Chapter III — Atoms and Molecules

Chemical formulas — 24

1. 16 H2S
2. 17 CCl4
3. 18 MgCl2
4. 19 Al2O3
5. 20 CaO
6. 21 NaNO3
7. 22 Na2CO3
8. 23 (NH4)2SO4
9. 24 CaCl2
10. 25 Na2O
11. 26 AlCl3
12. 27 Na2S
13. 28 Al2(SO4)3
14. 29 K2SO4
15. 30 KNO3
16. 31 Cu(NO3)2
17. 32 HNO3
18. 33 Na2SO3
19. 34 NH3
20. 35 CH3OH
21. 36 ZnO
22. 37 K2CO3
23. 38 Na2SO4
24. 39 Na3PO4

The author’s note

- This is where writing a chemical formula is finally explained. There are no chemical equations in the chapter.
- If the radicals were classified into simple and compound radicals, students would find it easier to write the formula correctly.
- Exercise 4[c] asks for the formula of “Copper Nitrate”. Writing it requires a valency, so Copper(II) Nitrate — or Cupric Nitrate — would be answerable and Copper Nitrate is not.

## Class 10

### Chapter I — Chemical Reactions and Equations

Chemical formulas — 26

1. 40 Fe3O4
2. 41 CO
3. 42 BaCl2
4. 43 BaSO4
5. 44 SO3
6. 45 FeSO4
7. 46 Pb(NO3)2
8. 47 PbO
9. 48 NO2
10. 49 AgCl
11. 50 AgBr
12. 51 CuCl2
13. 52 PbCl2
14. 53 CuO
15. 54 MnO2
16. 55 MnCl2
17. 56 KOH
18. 57 Ca(NO3)2
19. 58 H2SO4
20. 59 AgNO3
21. 60 Zn(NO3)2
22. 61 KBr
23. 62 BaI2
24. 63 KI
25. 64 BaBr2
26. 65 ZnCO3

| No. | Equation | Condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 9 | Zn H2SO4 → ZnSO4 H2 | — |
| 10 | 3Fe 4H2O → Fe3O4 4H2 | steam |
| 11 | CO 2H2 → CH3OH | — |
| 12 | H2 Cl2 → 2HCl | — |
| 13 | 3BaCl2 Al2(SO4)3 → 3BaSO4 2AlCl3 | — |
| 14 | 2Na 2H2O → 2NaOH H2 | — |
| 15 | BaCl2 Na2SO4 → BaSO4 2NaCl | — |
| 16 | CaO H2O → Ca(OH)2 | — |
| 17 | C O2 → CO2 | — |
| 18 | 2H2 O2 → 2H2O | — |
| 19 | CH4 2O2 → CO2 2H2O | — |
| 20 | 2FeSO4 → Fe2O3 SO2 SO3 | heat |
| 21 | CaCO3 → CaO CO2 | heat |
| 22 | 2Pb(NO3)2 → 2PbO 4NO2 O2 | heat |
| 23 | 2AgCl → 2Ag Cl2 | sunlight |
| 24 | 2AgBr → 2Ag Br2 | sunlight |
| 25 | Fe CuSO4 → FeSO4 Cu | — |
| 26 | Pb CuCl2 → PbCl2 Cu | — |
| 27 | 2Cu O2 → 2CuO | — |
| 28 | CuO H2 → Cu H2O | — |
| 29 | ZnO C → Zn CO | — |
| 30 | MnO2 4HCl → MnCl2 2H2O Cl2 | — |
| 31 | 4Na O2 → 2Na2O | — |
| 32 | 2PbO C → 2Pb CO2 | — |
| 33 | Fe2O3 2Al → Al2O3 2Fe | — |
| 34 | 2NaOH H2SO4 → Na2SO4 2H2O | — |
| 35 | 3H2 N2 → 2NH3 | — |
| 36 | 2H2S 3O2 → 2H2O 2SO2 | — |
| 37 | 2K 2H2O → 2KOH H2 | — |
| 38 | 2HNO3 Ca(OH)2 → Ca(NO3)2 2H2O | — |
| 39 | NaCl AgNO3 → AgCl NaNO3 | — |
| 40 | BaCl2 H2SO4 → BaSO4 2HCl | — |
| 41 | Zn 2AgNO3 → Zn(NO3)2 2Ag | — |
| 42 | 2Al 3CuCl2 → 2AlCl3 3Cu | — |
| 43 | BaCl2 K2SO4 → BaSO4 2KCl | — |
| 44 | 2KBr BaI2 → 2KI BaBr2 | — |
| 45 | ZnCO3 → ZnO CO2 | — |
| 46 | Mg 2HCl → MgCl2 H2 | — |

| Formula | Name given | Correct name |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pb(NO3)2 | Lead Nitrate | Lead(II) Nitrate, or Plumbous Nitrate |
| PbO | Lead Oxide | Lead(II) Oxide, or Plumbous Oxide |
| FeSO4 | Iron Sulphate | Iron(II) Sulphate, or Ferrous Sulphate |
| CuCl2 | Copper Chloride | Copper(II) Chloride, or Cupric Chloride |
| PbCl2 | Lead Chloride | Lead(II) Chloride, or Plumbous Chloride |

The author’s note

- This is where balancing is finally explained, using the iron and steam equation. It is given as a word equation first — iron and steam yielding iron oxide and hydrogen — so students can see what the reactants and products are called before any symbol appears.
- The variable valency of iron is not explained, so the names behind FeSO4 (ferrous sulphate) and Fe2O3 (ferric oxide) cannot be worked out from what has been taught.
- Exercise 7[c] asks for a balanced equation involving “Copper Chloride”. Writing the formula requires a valency, so Copper(II) Chloride would be answerable.

### Chapter II — Acids, Bases and Salts

Chemical formulas — 7

1. 66 CH3COOH
2. 67 Na2ZnO2
3. 68 NaHCO3
4. 69 Ca(HCO3)2
5. 70 CaOCl2
6. 71 NH4Cl
7. 72 FeCl2

| No. | Equation | Condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 47 | 2NaOH Zn → Na2ZnO2 H2 | — |
| 48 | Na2CO3 2HCl → 2NaCl H2O CO2 | — |
| 49 | NaHCO3 HCl → NaCl H2O CO2 | — |
| 50 | CaCO3 H2O CO2 → Ca(HCO3)2 | — |
| 51 | 2NaCl 2H2O → 2NaOH Cl2 H2 | electrolysis |
| 52 | Ca(OH)2 Cl2 → CaOCl2 H2O | — |
| 53 | NaCl H2O CO2 NH3 → NH4Cl NaHCO3 | — |
| 54 | 2NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 H2O CO2 | heat |
| 55 | 2Al 3H2SO4 → Al2(SO4)3 3H2 | — |
| 56 | Fe 2HCl → FeCl2 H2 | dilute acid |

### Chapter III — Metals and Non-metals

Chemical formulas — 7

1. 73 NaAlO2
2. 74 K2O
3. 75 HgS
4. 76 HgO
5. 77 Cu2S
6. 78 Cu2O
7. 79 ZnS

| No. | Equation | Condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 57 | 4Al 3O2 → 2Al2O3 | — |
| 58 | Al2O3 6HCl → 2AlCl3 3H2O | — |
| 59 | Al2O3 2NaOH → 2NaAlO2 H2O | — |
| 60 | Na2O H2O → 2NaOH | — |
| 61 | K2O H2O → 2KOH | — |
| 62 | Ca 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 H2 | — |
| 63 | 2Al 3H2O → Al2O3 3H2 | — |
| 64 | 2HgS 3O2 → 2HgO 2SO2 | — |
| 65 | 2HgO → 2Hg O2 | heat |
| 66 | Fe 2HCl → FeCl2 H2 | dilute acid |
| 67 | 2Cu2O Cu2S → 6Cu SO2 | — |
| 68 | 2ZnS 3O2 → 2ZnO 2SO2 | — |
| 69 | 3MnO2 4Al → 3Mn 2Al2O3 | — |
| 70 | S O2 → SO2 | — |

The author’s note

- The chemical names of Cu2O and Cu2S are not given. They are Copper(I) Oxide and Copper(I) Sulphide — cuprous oxide and cuprous sulphide.

## Questions

**How many chemical formulas and equations are in the CBSE syllabus for Classes 7 to 10?**

79 chemical formulas and 70 chemical equations. The chapter-by-chapter list on this page enumerates every one of them, with the chapter each appears in.

**When does CBSE teach a student to write a chemical formula?**

Class 9, Chapter III — Atoms and Molecules. Formulas are set in exercises from Class 7.

**When does CBSE teach a student to balance a chemical equation?**

Class 10, Chapter I — Chemical Reactions and Equations. Equations are set from Class 7, and Class 7 Chapter VI prints two that are not balanced.

**What is the correct chemical name of CuSO4?**

Copper(II) Sulphate, also called cupric sulphate. The textbook prints “Copper Sulphate”, which cannot be turned back into a formula because copper has a variable valency.

**Is Fe2O3 iron oxide?**

No. Fe2O3 is Iron(III) Oxide, or ferric oxide. Iron oxide is Fe3O4.

## This is the gap the Playbook was written for.

[_The Language of Chemistry, Playbook®_](/playbooks/language-of-chemistry/) teaches the alphabets first — thirty elements and twenty-five radicals as punch-out tokens — then formulas, then balanced equations, in that order and with a score gate at each step. It is the order the tables above are set in and the order the textbooks explain last.

Each of those three steps is published on this site in full: [the valencies](/valency-and-radicals/), [the formulas they build](/chemical-formulas/) and [the equations, worked](/balancing-chemical-equations/) — with [free practice sets](/practice/) drawn from the very inventory above.

[Request a sample copy for your school](/for-schools/) [How the method works](/method/)

### The other boards

- [ICSE — Classes 6 to 9](/syllabus/icse/) · A student writes symbols in Class 6 and balances equations in Class 8, three years and one year respectively before Class 9 explains valency and how a formula is put together.
- [SSLC — Classes 8 to 10](/syllabus/sslc/) · The order is inverted. Balancing an equation is explained in Class 8, before either a chemical formula or a chemical equation has been explained.