What describes a skeletal chemical equation?

• A. It is always balanced.
• B. It shows the exact coefficients.
• C. It includes only products.
• D. It is unbalanced and does not show quantities.

Answer: (D)

A skeletal chemical equation lists the substances involved with reactants on the left and products on the right, but it does not include balancing coefficients. Because the coefficients are missing, it does not show the quantities of each substance, so it is unbalanced by design. This is different from a fully balanced equation, which includes coefficients to reflect the actual amounts needed to satisfy mass conservation. It also includes both reactants and products, not just products. So describing a skeletal equation as unbalanced and not showing quantities best captures what this type of equation is.