Chapter 6, Problem 36QAP

The “Chemistry in Focus” segment The Beetle That Shoots Straight discusses the bombardier beetle and the chemical reaction of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.

m:math> H 2 O 2 ( a q ) → H 2 O ( l ) + O 2 ( g )

e balanced equation given in the segment is

m:math> 2 H 2 O 2 ( a q ) → 2 H 2 O ( l ) + O 2 ( g )

y can’t we balance the equation in the following way?

m:math> H 2 O 2 ( a q ) → H 2 ( g ) + O 2 ( g )

e molecular-level pictures like those in Section 6.3 to support your answer.