It's hydrogen carbonate, which is HCO3-
Should the reactant be H2CO3?
How do you balance this reaction?:
HCO3 ---> H2O + CO2
Solid magnesium hydroxide decomposes into gaseous water and solid magnesium oxide .
To balance the reaction:
1. Count the number of atoms on each side of the equation.
On the left side (reactant side), you have 1 hydrogen (H), 1 carbon (C), and 3 oxygen (O) atoms. On the right side (product side), you have 2 hydrogen (H), 1 carbon (C), and 3 oxygen (O) atoms.
2. Begin balancing with the element that appears in the fewest different compounds. In this case, carbon (C) appears in only one compound (HCO3) on the reactant side, so we can start with it.
3. Add a coefficient in front of the compound that contains the unbalanced element. In this case, add a coefficient of 2 in front of HCO3:
2HCO3 ---> H2O + CO2
Now we have 2 carbon (C) and 6 oxygen (O) atoms on the left side, and 1 carbon (C) and 3 oxygen (O) atoms on the right side.
4. Balance the remaining elements by adjusting the coefficients. At this point, we can balance the oxygen atoms by adding a coefficient of 3 in front of H2O:
2HCO3 ---> 3H2O + CO2
Now we have 2 carbon (C) and 6 oxygen (O) atoms on the left side, and 2 carbon (C) and 6 oxygen (O) atoms on the right side.
5. Finally, balance the hydrogen atoms. There are 4 hydrogen (H) atoms on the right side, so we can balance them by adding a coefficient of 4 in front of the H2O:
2HCO3 ---> 3H2O + CO2
Now we have 2 hydrogen (H), 2 carbon (C), and 6 oxygen (O) atoms on both sides of the equation, and the reaction is balanced.
Therefore, the balanced equation is:
2HCO3 ---> 3H2O + CO2