Question

Sodium oxide decomposes to produce oxygen gas and sodium metal

Answer 1

Answer:

2Na2O (s) → 4Na (s) + O2 (g)

Explanation:

According to this question sodium oxide, Na2O, decomposes to produce oxygen gas, O2, and sodium metal, Na. The following represents the chemical equation;

Na2O (s) → Na (s) + O2 (g)

However, the above chemical equation is not balanced as the number of atoms of each element on both sides are not equal e.g. there are 2 moles of Na on one side and 1 mole on the other.

To balance the equation, we make use of coefficients to ensure that the atoms of each element on the reactant side are the same as that on the product side. The balanced equation is as follows:

2Na2O (s) → 4Na (s) + O2 (g)