2 moles of lithium nitrate and 2 moles of potassium nitrate are heated separately in two different vessels until a constant weight is achieved. The ratio of the total moles of gaseous products formed from the decomposition of lithium nitrate to that from potassium nitrate is

Step-by-step solution

The thermal decomposition of lithium nitrate is given by the balanced chemical equation: 4 LiNO ₃ 2 Li ₂ O + 4 NO ₂ + O ₂ From the stoichiometry, 4 moles of LiNO ₃ produce 4 + 1 = 5 moles of gaseous products ( NO ₂ and O ₂ ). Therefore, 2 moles of LiNO ₃ will produce 5 2 = 2.5 moles of gaseous products. The thermal decomposition of potassium nitrate is given by: 2 KNO ₃ 2 KNO ₂ + O ₂ From the stoichiometry, 2 moles of KNO ₃ produce 1 mole of gaseous product ( O ₂ ). The required ratio of the total moles of gaseous