Potassium chlorate is a white, crystalline solid. It can be broken down into potassium chloride (a salt) and oxygen gas. For this chemical reaction write a:
a) Word equation

b) Skeletal equation (balanced)
​

Notice that the number of atoms of

K

and

Cl

are the same on both sides, but the numbers of

O

atoms are not. There are 3

O

atoms on the the left side and 2 on the right. 3 and 2 are factors of 6, so add coefficients so that there are 6

O

atoms on both sides.

2KClO

3

(

s

)

+ heat

→

KCl(s)

+

3O

2

(

g

)

Now the

K

and

Cl

atoms are not balanced. There are 2 of each on the left and 1 of each on the right. Add a coefficient of 2 in front of

KCl

.

2KClO

3

(

s

)

+ heat

→

2KCl(s)

+

3O

2

(

g

)

The equation is now balanced with 2

K

atoms,

nacl or sodium chloride is an ionic compound. this is because an ionic compound pertains to a compound that consists of positively and negatively charged ions. in this case, na (sodium) has a tendency to lose one electron when it reacts with with other atoms, so the resulting sodium ion contains 11 protons and 10 electrons, thus making it positively charged (na+), when chlorine reacts, it usually gains one electron to form an ion called chloride, thus making it negatively charged ( since the ions are oppositely charged, they attract.