Question

gaseous water and solid potassium oxide are formed by the decomposition of solid potassium hydroxide. write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction.

Explanation:

Step1: Write the reactant and products

The reactant is solid potassium hydroxide ($KOH(s)$), and the products are gaseous water ($H_2O(g)$) and solid potassium oxide ($K_2O(s)$). So the un - balanced equation is $KOH(s)
ightarrow H_2O(g)+K_2O(s)$.

Step2: Balance the equation

First, balance the potassium atoms. There are 2 potassium atoms in $K_2O$, so we need 2 moles of $KOH$. The equation becomes $2KOH(s)
ightarrow H_2O(g)+K_2O(s)$. Then check the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. On the left - hand side, we have 2 moles of $KOH$, which gives 2 hydrogen and 2 oxygen atoms. On the right - hand side, $H_2O$ has 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen atom, and $K_2O$ has 1 oxygen atom, so the equation is balanced.

Answer:

$2KOH(s)
ightarrow H_2O(g)+K_2O(s)$