Let's balance the chemical equation step by step by adding the appropriate coefficients in front of each compound.
The unbalanced equation is:
[tex]\[ \text{KClO}_3 \rightarrow \text{KCl} + \text{O}_2 \][/tex]
### Step-by-Step Balancing:
1. Identify the elements in the equation: We have potassium (K), chlorine (Cl), and oxygen (O).
2. Density of elements:
- Potassium (K) appears once on both sides.
- Chlorine (Cl) appears once on both sides.
- Oxygen (O) appears three times on the left (as part of KClO3) and twice on the right (as O2).
3. Balancing oxygen atoms:
- On the left side, we have 3 oxygen atoms in KClO3.
- On the right side, oxygen appears as O2. To balance this, we need 3 molecules of O2 to have a total of 6 oxygen atoms. However, we should use coefficients to balance the equation without changing the actual compounds.
4. Balancing potassium and chlorine:
- It's beneficial to start by putting a coefficient of 2 in front of KClO3 to balance the K and Cl. This gives us:
[tex]\[ 2 \text{KClO}_3 \rightarrow \text{KCl} + \text{O}_2 \][/tex]
- Now, doubling KCl as well:
[tex]\[ 2 \text{KClO}_3 \rightarrow 2 \text{KCl} + \text{O}_2 \][/tex]
- Notice that we need to balance oxygen atoms now. We have [tex]\( 2 \times 3 = 6 \)[/tex] oxygen atoms on the left from 2 KClO3.
- On the right side, we need the same number of oxygen atoms. Since O2 has 2 atoms of oxygen, we need:
[tex]\( 3 \)[/tex] O2 molecules:
[tex]\[ 2 \text{KClO}_3 \rightarrow 2 \text{KCl} + 3 \text{O}_2 \][/tex]
Now, the equation is balanced:
[tex]\[ 2 \text{KClO}_3 \rightarrow 2 \text{KCl} + 3 \text{O}_2 \][/tex]
The coefficients are correctly placed and balanced the equation:
- Coefficient for KClO3 is 2.
- Coefficient for KCl is 2.
- Coefficient for O2 is 3.
Thus, the balanced chemical equation is:
[tex]\[ 2 \text{KClO}_3 \rightarrow 2 \text{KCl} + 3 \text{O}_2 \][/tex]
