Skeletons can be scary. But what exactly is a skeleton equation? A Topper reader posed this question to our panel of experts.
Well, this week we bring you the top three questions posed by Class XI students in our Ask The Expert section. They received answers within 72 hours!
Subject: Chemistry
Q. How do you form the skeleton equation?
Posted by: Abhithegr8
A. A skeleton equation is an equation that identifies the reactants and products in a chemical reaction by their chemical formulae but does not quantify them.
Skeleton equations are also sometimes called unbalanced equations. Word equations can be very useful in forming a skeleton equation. To write a skeleton equation, we substitute a chemical formulae for the given chemical names of the reactants and the products.
Example: During electrolysis, water decomposes into hydrogen and oxygen. The chemical formula for water is H2O; the formula for hydrogen is H2; and the formula for oxygen is O2. So, the skeleton equation will be: H2O
H2 + O2
Subject: Mathematics
Q. How to calculate 2 to the power 1.4?
Posted by: Astik2
A. Let x = 2^1.4
Taking log on both sides
Log x = 1.4 log 2 = 1.4 (0.3010) = 0.4214
Now, taking antilog we get x = antilog (0.4214) = 2.638.
Subject: Physics
Q. If the earth were to shrink suddenly what would happen to the length of the day?
Posted by: Phyndavi
A. If the earth shrank suddenly, its radius would decrease. The moment of Inertia I = (2/5) MR^2 decrease.
As no external torque is acting on the earth, its angular momentum L = Iω = I 2pi /T is constant.
As I decreases, T must decrease. Hence the length of the day will decrease!