Problem 2
Potassium bromate (V),
is a food additive used to improve the texture in the dough. It is a suspected carcinogen and some consumer groups want to ban it. The industry says that this compound is decomposed to potassium bromide and oxygen when the bread is baked and is thus not a risk to the health of the consumer.
What is the sum of the coefficients for the potassium bromate (V), potassium bromide and oxygen in the chemical equation?
Note: Assume that the coefficients are irreducible integers.
The answer is 7.
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The balanced chemical equation is 2 K B r O 3 → 2 K B r + 3 O 2 Therefore, 2 + 2 + 3 = 7 .