How to deal with solving reactions with not enough background [closed]








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The book I'm studying with often confronts me with exercises that involve solving reactions such as $\ce{CA(OH)\_2 + CO\_2 -> ?}$.


Now, most of the time, the questions are just repetitions of material that has been taught, that reaction in particular has been shown many times in the chapter before the questions, $\ce{... -> CaCO\_3 + H\_2O}$, but not *explained*.


When I look up such reactions on the Internet to try to understand, I mostly come across people who ask others to balance the equations for them. But that is not really interesting for me, as I find balancing a trivial mathematical task.


I am, however, failing to understand why this reaction (or many other reactions) happen the way they do. My book has also mentioned that you can combine two materials, like $\ce{CO + H2}$, in different ratios, under different temperatures, pressures, and with different catalysts, to get different results (methane, methanol, and many others).


So my question is -- when asked to solve a reaction, and given only the reactants (or possibly also other factors such as mentioned above), is there a mathematical principle (for example, relying on differences in electronegativity) to solve the reaction besides being completely familiarised with molecular orbital theory and quantum mechanics? Because so far, the only alternative I can see is memorising the reactions.


I realise this question is rather broad, and possibly there is no satisfying answer to it or any answer besides to go study quantum mechanics, but to provide some context, I'm a student at high school studying chemistry not as my main subject (so on a rather elementary level), and I'm looking for a perspective how to *understand* the material I learn and not memorise it.


