Question

How do you balance this chemical equation?

barium chlorate --> barium chloride + oxygen

I'm really confused on this question because it contains some ionic compounds. How would you balance it? Thanks!,

Answer 1

Ba(ClO3)2 --> BaCl2 + 3 O2

The fact that there are some ionic compounds doesn't matter. Just use the formulas.
barium chlorate = Ba(ClO3)2
barium chloride = BaCl2
Oxygen = O2

Now create the unbalanced equation
Ba(ClO3)2 --> BaCl2 + O2


And balance in the usual fashion. Count the atoms of each element on both sides
Ba = 1, 1
Cl = 2, 2
O = 6, 2

And oxygen is out of balance. But can be easily handled with a 3 coefficient on the right hand side. So:
Ba(ClO3)2 --> BaCl2 + 3 O2

And we have a balanced equation.