Rules for Predicting Products for Decomposition Reactions:
 Carbonates: When heated, it decomposes into carbon dioxide and an oxide.
_____CO3-2  CO2 + _____O-2
 Example:
Calcium Carbonate 
Calcium Carbonate  Carbon Dioxide + Calcium Oxide
CaCO3  CO2 + CaO
 Example:
Aluminum Carbonate 
Aluminum Carbonate  Carbon Dioxide + Aluminum Oxide
Al2(CO3)3  3 CO2 + Al2O3
 Chlorates: When heated, it decomposes into oxygen gas and a chloride.
_____ClO3-1  O2 + _____Cl-1
 Example:
Potassium Chlorate 
Potassium Chlorate  Oxygen + Potassium Chloride
2 KClO3  3 O2 + 2 KCl
 Example:
Aluminum Chlorate 
Aluminum Chlorate  Oxygen + Aluminum Chloride
2 Al(ClO3)3  9 O2 + 2 AlCl3
 Hydroxides: When heated, it decomposes into water and an oxide.
_____OH-1  H2O + _____O-2
 Example:
Iron (III) Hydroxide 
Iron (III) Hydroxide  Water + Iron (III) Oxide
2 Fe(OH)3  3 H2O + Fe2O3
 Example:
Sodium Hydroxide 
Sodium Hydroxide  Water + Sodium Oxide
2 NaOH  H2O + Na2O
 Acids: When heated, it decomposes into water and a molecular oxide; Rule only applies
to acids that contain oxygen.
H+1_____  H2O + Molecular Oxide
 Example:
Sulfuric Acid 
Sulfuric Acid  Water + Sulfur Trioxide
H2SO4  H2O + SO3
 Example:
Carbonic Acid 
Carbonic Acid  Water + Carbon Dioxide
H2CO3  H2O + CO2
 Oxides: When heated, it decomposes into oxygen and another element.
_____O-2  O2 + _____
 Example:
Lead (II) Oxide 
Lead (II) Oxide  Oxygen + Lead
2 PbO  O2 + 2 Pb
 Example:
Mercury (II) Oxide 
Mercury (II) Oxide  Oxygen + Mercury
2 HgO  O2 + 2 Hg
 Electrolysis: When electricity is used to separate elements in a compound; Compounds
break down into their elements.
 Example:
Magnesium Chloride 
Magnesium Chloride  Magnesium + Chlorine
MgCl2  Mg + Cl2
 Example:
Lithium Fluoride 
Lithium Fluoride  Lithium + Fluorine
2 LiF  2 Li + F2