Question

Water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen gas via electrolysis in the following equation. 2H20 -> 2H2 +O2

What type of reaction is this.

Answer 1

D: Decomposition Reaction

Step-by-step explanation:

A decomposition reaction is a reaction in which a compound breaks down into two or more simpler substances.

The general form of a decomposition reaction is: AB -> A+B.

You just split the nonmetals into a molecule depending on the element.

But they are rules though when doing this reaction. If a element is a diatomic molecule, then you would write a 2 in the subscript.

Diatomic molecules contain two atoms that are chemically bonded

The 7 diatomic elements are:

H: Hydrogen H2

N: Nitrogen N2

F: Fluorine F2

O: Oxygen O2

I: Iodine I2

C: Carbon C2

B: Bromine B2

Now let us go back to this problem: 2H2O -> 2H2 + O2

So water or 2H2O split into 2H2 and O2 because hydrogen and oxygen are diatomic elements.

That is how you write the product of a decomposition reaction.

Hope it helped!