Fill in the blank with the correct number to balance the equation: ___KClO3 → 2KCl + 3O2. (Enter only a whole number.)

Answer:

Answer is "2"

Explanation:

In the decomposition of potassium chlorate (KClO₃) we get KCl and oxygen gas.

Each mole of KClO₃ gives one mole of KCl and 1.5 moles of O₂ gas.

So the reaction will be:

[tex]KClO_{3}-->KCl+\frac{3}{2} O_{2}[/tex]

In order to convert the fractional coefficient to whole number we will multiply the complete equation with two.

[tex]2X[KClO_{3}-->KCl+\frac{3}{2} O_{2}][/tex]

Thus the balanced equation will be:

[tex]2KClO_{3}-->2KCl+3O_{2}[/tex]

hence coefficient of KClO₃ is "2".