Question

what coefficients are needed to balance the reaction __KNO3--__KNO2+____O2

Answer 1

To balance the reaction \( \text{KNO}_3 \rightarrow \text{KNO}_2 + \text{O}_2 \), follow these steps:

1. **Count the number of atoms** of each element in the reactants and products.
2. **Adjust coefficients** to balance each element one at a time, starting with elements that appear in only one reactant and one product.

The unbalanced equation is:

\[
\text{KNO}_3 \rightarrow \text{KNO}_2 + \text{O}_2
\]

### Balancing the Equation

1. **Balance Potassium (K)**:
- There is 1 K in each side (1 on both sides).

2. **Balance Nitrogen (N)**:
- There is 1 N in each side (1 on both sides).

3. **Balance Oxygen (O)**:
- On the left, there are 3 O in \( \text{KNO}_3 \).
- On the right, there's 2 O in \( \text{KNO}_2 \) and 2 O in \( \text{O}_2 \).
- To balance the O, note that we need a total of 3 O on the product side. The product currently has 2 O from \( \text{KNO}_2 \) and needs another 1 O from \( \text{O}_2 \).

Now the equation is:

\[
\text{KNO}_3 \rightarrow \text{KNO}_2 + \frac{1}{2} \text{O}_2
\]

To eliminate the fraction, multiply through by 2:

\[
2 \text{KNO}_3 \rightarrow 2 \text{KNO}_2 + \text{O}_2
\]

### Final Balanced Equation

The balanced equation is:

\[
2 \text{KNO}_3 \rightarrow 2 \text{KNO}_2 + \text{O}_2
\]

### Coefficients

The final coefficients are:

- \( 2 \, \text{KNO}_3 \)
- \( 2 \, \text{KNO}_2 \)
- \( 1 \, \text{O}_2 \)

So, the coefficients are \( \mathbf{2}, \mathbf{2}, \mathbf{1} \).