Chemical reactions are all around us. Baking involves chemical reactions; so do burning and rusting. A chemical reaction changes one or more substances into other, different substances. This book looks at the processes in chemical reactions, how energy is important, and the factors that affect the speed of reactions, including the use of catalysts. It also considers electrochemistry and nuclear reactions. This series describes the essentials of chemistry, from the fundamentals of atomic structure, through the periodic table, to descriptions of different types of reactions. The properties of elements are covered, as well as industrial applications for chemical processes.