Final answer:
A chemical reaction between two reactants that produces one product is known as a composition reaction, where reactants combine to form a single product, as exemplified by the reaction of carbon with oxygen to create carbon dioxide.
Step-by-step explanation:
A chemical reaction between two reactants that produces one product is classified as a composition reaction, which is also known as a combination or synthesis reaction. In any chemical reaction, substances known as reactants are transformed into new substances called products. The reactants, typically found on the left side of a chemical equation, enter into the reaction and combine to form the product, which is indicated on the right side. The equation for a composition reaction is typically written as:
Reactants → Products
An example is the reaction where solid carbon (C) combines with oxygen gas (O2) to form carbon dioxide (CO2), written as:
C + O2 → CO2
This equation represents that carbon and oxygen are the reactants that yield carbon dioxide as the sole product. In the case of a composition reaction, even though there may be a coefficient other than one for the substance, the presence of only a single product is the key characteristic that defines this type of reaction. It is important to remember that for a chemical equation to be useful, it must always be balanced, meaning it has the same number and type of each atom on both sides of the equation.