Sodium chlorate, NaClO3, decomposes when heated to yield sodium chloride and oxygen, a reaction used to provide oxygen for the emergency breathing masks in many airliners. Balance the equation. Express your answer as a chemical equation.
Sodium chlorate decomposes into sodium chloride and oxygen. The reaction is NaClO3 --Δ--> NaCl + O2 The Δ means that heat is used This equation is still not balanced. Balancing the equation 2NaClO3 --Δ--> 2NaCl + 3O2 The equation is now balanced.
