If the KCLO3 were not completely decomposed, would your calculated values for percent oxygen in KCLO3 be too high, too low or unaffected?
If KCLO3 (potassium chlorate) were not completely decomposed, the calculated values for percent oxygen in KCLO3 would be too low. This is because the percent oxygen is determined based on the stoichiometry of the reaction, assuming that all the KCLO3 decomposed completely to form oxygen gas (O2).
To understand why the calculated values would be too low, let's first establish the balanced chemical equation for the decomposition of KCLO3:
2 KCLO3(s) → 2 KCl(s) + 3 O2(g)
According to this equation, the molar ratio between KCLO3 and O2 is 2:3. This means that for every 2 moles of KCLO3 decomposed, 3 moles of O2 are produced.
However, if KCLO3 were not completely decomposed, it means that there would be some unreacted KCLO3 left after the reaction. This unreacted KCLO3 would not contribute to the formation of oxygen gas. As a result, the amount of observed oxygen produced would be less than the theoretical amount based on stoichiometry.
When calculating the percent oxygen in KCLO3, you divide the mass of oxygen produced by the total mass of KCLO3 and multiply by 100. Since the observed mass of oxygen would be lower than expected, the calculated percent oxygen would also be lower, leading to a value that is too low.
In summary, if KCLO3 were not completely decomposed, the calculated values for percent oxygen in KCLO3 would be too low because the observed amount of oxygen produced would be less than the theoretical amount based on the balanced chemical equation.
If potassium chlorate (KCLO3) were not completely decomposed, the calculated values for percent oxygen in KCLO3 would be too low.
The reason for this is that the calculation of percent composition involves dividing the number of moles of a specific element (in this case, oxygen) by the total number of moles in the compound and then multiplying by 100.
If KCLO3 was not completely decomposed, it means that not all of the KCLO3 molecules have released their oxygen atoms. As a result, the number of moles of oxygen obtained in the experiment would be less than the actual number of moles present in the original KCLO3 sample.
Since the calculated value depends on the number of moles of oxygen obtained, if this number is lower than expected, the calculated percent oxygen in KCLO3 would be too low.