The given answer, C + O2 --> CO2, is a chemical equation because it represents a chemical reaction between carbon (C) and oxygen (O2) to form carbon dioxide (CO2). In a chemical equation, the reactants are written on the left side of the arrow and the products are written on the right side. In this equation, C and O2 are the reactants, and CO2 is the product. The arrow indicates the direction of the reaction, showing the transformation of the reactants into the products.