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  • Chemical or Physical Change: Understanding Potassium Chlorate Decomposition
    Heating potassium chlorate is a chemical change. Here's why:

    * Chemical Change: Involves the formation of new substances with different chemical properties.

    * Physical Change: Only alters the appearance or physical state of a substance, not its chemical composition.

    What Happens When Potassium Chlorate is Heated:

    When potassium chlorate (KClO3) is heated, it decomposes into potassium chloride (KCl) and oxygen gas (O2):

    2KClO3(s) → 2KCl(s) + 3O2(g)

    * New substances are formed: Potassium chloride (KCl) and oxygen gas (O2) have different chemical properties than potassium chlorate (KClO3).

    * Chemical bonds are broken and formed: The chemical bonds within potassium chlorate are broken, and new bonds are formed to create potassium chloride and oxygen.

    Therefore, the heating of potassium chlorate results in a chemical change due to the formation of new substances and the breaking and forming of chemical bonds.

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