Question

write a balanced chemical equation based on the following description:
solid barium carbonate decomposes into solid barium oxide and carbon dioxide gas when
heated
baco₃(s) →

Explanation:

Step1: Write the unbalanced equation

The reaction is \( \text{BaCO}_3(s)\xrightarrow{\text{heat}}\text{BaO}(s)+\text{CO}_2(g) \)

Step2: Check the number of atoms

• Barium (\( \text{Ba} \)): 1 atom on both sides.
• Carbon (\( \text{C} \)): 1 atom on both sides.
• Oxygen (\( \text{O} \)): 3 atoms on the left (\(1\times3\) in \( \text{BaCO}_3\)) and \(1 + 2=3\) atoms on the right (\(1\) in \( \text{BaO}\) and \(2\) in \( \text{CO}_2\)).

Answer:

\( \text{BaCO}_3(s)\xrightarrow{\text{heat}}\text{BaO}(s)+\text{CO}_2(g) \)