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When heated, potassium chlorate decomposes to form potassium chloride and oxygen gas. The manganese dioxide acts as a catalyst in this reaction, helping to speed up the decomposition of potassium chlorate. This reaction is commonly used in labs to produce oxygen gas.
This is a decomposition reaction. The compound potassium chlorate (KClO3) breaks down into potassium chloride (KCl) and oxygen gas (O2) when sulfur (S) is heated.
The reaction is similar to that of Sodium Bicarbonate and Ammonium Carbonate combined: NH4HCO3 <--> NH3 + H2O + CO2 NOTE: All the products are gaseous and transparent. this means the thermal decomposition appears to turn into 'nothing'.
If a student accidentally put potassium chloride instead of potassium chlorate in the crucible during a lab experiment, the results would likely not match the expected outcome. Potassium chloride does not release oxygen when heated like potassium chlorate does, so there would be no oxygen to react with the magnesium present in the crucible. This would impact the ability to achieve the desired chemical reaction and may lead to incorrect data or observations.
A decomposition reaction needs the addition of a catalyst or heat to proceed. For instance hydrogen peroxide will break down into water and oxygen gas in the presence of a catalyst; and calcium carbonate will break down into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide gas when heated.