Products are the species formed from
chemical reactions. During a chemical reaction
reagents are transformed into products after passing through a high energy
transition state. This process results in the consumption of the
reagents. It can be a
spontaneous reaction or mediated by
catalysts which lower the energy of the transition state, and by
solvents which provide the chemical environment necessary for the reaction to take place. When represented in
chemical equations products are by convention drawn on the right-hand side, even in the case of
reversible reactions. The properties of products such as their energies help determine several characteristics of a chemical reaction such as whether the reaction is
exergonic or
endergonic. Additionally the properties of a product can make it easier to extract and purify following a chemical reaction, especially if the product has a different
state of matter than the reactants.