Write a balanced equation for the thermal decomposition of aluminum nitrate to form aluminum oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and oxygen gas.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The balanced equation for the thermal decomposition of aluminum nitrate is: \[ 2Al(NO_3)_3 → 2Al_2O_3 + 6NO_2 + 3O_2 \]

Step by step solution

01

Write the Unbalanced Equation

Start by writing down the molecular formulas of the reactant and products. The unbalanced equation is as follows: \[ Al(NO_3)_3 → Al_2O_3 + NO_2 + O_2 \]
02

Balance the Equation

Focus on balancing the elements that appear in most of the molecules first. First, balance the nitrogen atoms by putting a 2 in front of \(NO_2\): \[ Al(NO_3)_3 → Al_2O_3 + 2NO_2 + O_2 \]. Then, balance the aluminum atoms by putting a 2 in front of \( Al(NO_3)_3 \) and the oxygen atoms by putting a 3 in front of \( O_2 \), obtaining: \[ 2Al(NO_3)_3 → 2Al_2O_3 + 6NO_2 + 3O_2 \]. The number of atoms on the reactants side equals the number of atoms on the products side, so the equation is now balanced.
03

Verify

Always verify the final equation to ensure that the number of atoms of each element remains consistent on both sides of the equation. For this equation, there are 2 aluminum atoms, 6 nitrogen atoms, and 18 oxygen atoms on each side of the equation. Thus, the equation is balanced and correct.

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