Question

predicting the products of a decomp
if mercury (ii) oxide is heated and decomposes, what would the product of the reaction be?
4hgo → 4 dropdown + 2o₂
dropdown options: x hg + o, hgo, hg

Explanation:

Step1: Recall decomposition of HgO

Mercury(II) oxide (\(HgO\)) decomposes upon heating into mercury (\(Hg\)) and oxygen (\(O_2\)). The balanced chemical equation for the decomposition of \(HgO\) is \(2HgO\xrightarrow{\Delta}2Hg + O_2\), but in the given equation, the coefficient of \(HgO\) is 4. So, balancing the equation: \(4HgO\xrightarrow{\Delta}4Hg + 2O_2\).

Step2: Identify the missing product

From the decomposition reaction of \(HgO\), the products are mercury (\(Hg\)) and oxygen (\(O_2\)). In the given equation \(4HgO = 4\underline{\quad}+ 2O_2\), the missing product should be \(Hg\) (mercury) to balance the equation (conservation of atoms: 4 Hg atoms and 4 O atoms on left, 4 Hg atoms (from 4 Hg) and 4 O atoms (from \(2O_2\)) on right).

Answer:

Hg