Understanding chemical reactions

I just got in 10th grade and the first chapter in Chemistry in our school curriculum is *Chemical Reactions and Equations*


The chapter is littered with a **lot** of chemical reactions and their equations and most of the teachers I consult say that there is no alternative to revising them but I **hate** to blindly memorize stuff without knowing why it happens in that manner and not in some other way.


Is it really true that there is no other way than to **memorize** the equations?


If there is an alternative, please let me know.


And how can I predict the products of a chemical reaction if its reactants are given. Is it done by understanding the types of chemical reactions.


One of my teachers said that it could be done like this : If you're given two elements as reactants and you know that they will react, then you know that it is a combination reaction, you can figure out the chemical formula of the compound that those two elements will form on combination and then balance the equation. This works for simple reactions like *Na + Cl $\longrightarrow$ NaCl* or for some simple decomposition, displacement or double displacement reactions but what about complex reactions like this :


$2 Pb(NO\_ 2)\_3$ (s) $\longrightarrow$ $2PbO$ (s) + $4NO\_2$ (g) + $O\_2$ (g)


I can quite easily visualize a combination reaction as two elements sharing or losing or gaining electrons and combining to form a compound, but how do I visualize these types of reactions


I'm sorry if you find this question silly...
  

All answers are welcome


Thanks


