1. Conciseness. Chemical equations written with symbols and formulas are more concise than word equations. For example, the following word equation:

```

Hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen gas to form water.

```

Can be written as the following chemical equation:

```

2H2 + O2 → 2H2O

```

2. Specificity. Chemical equations written with symbols and formulas are more specific than word equations. For example, the word equation "A metal reacts with an acid to form a salt" does not specify which metal or acid is involved. However, the following chemical equation specifies that iron reacts with hydrochloric acid to form iron(II) chloride:

```

Fe + 2HCl → FeCl2 + H2

```