Question

What is the chemical equation for diphosphorus trioxide $+$ water $\to$ phosphorous acid?

Answer 1

Chemical compounds react with each other and form a new product. Diphosphorus trioxide is a compound with a molecular formula of ${P_2}{O_3}$ , it reacts with water to form a compound known as phosphorous acid. In the chemical equation, the atoms in the reactant’s side and the product’s side must be equal.

Complete answer:
Phosphorus is an element with atomic number $15$ and oxygen is an element with atomic number $8$ . Both these elements combine to form different compounds. One of them is diphosphorus trioxide with a chemical formula of ${P_2}{O_3}$ . This compound belongs to the oxide family.
Water is a chemical compound with a molecular formula of ${H_2}O$ , it is a neutral compound.
The chemical compounds diphosphorus trioxide and water react with each other and form a compound known as phosphorous acid. The molecular formula of phosphorous acid is ${H_3}P{O_3}$ .
The chemical reaction involving the reaction between phosphorus and water leads to the formation of a weak acid will be as follows:
${P_2}{O_3} + 3{H_2}O \to 2{H_3}P{O_3}$
The atoms on the reactant’s side and the product’s side are equal. Thus, it is a balanced chemical equation.

Note:
Phosphorus acid is a weak acid with the molecular formula of ${H_3}P{O_3}$ and phosphoric acid is a compound with a molecular formula of ${H_3}P{O_4}$ . Though the same atoms are present, the oxidation state of phosphorus and the number of oxygen atoms are different, which leads to them as weak and strong acids. ${H_3}P{O_3}$ can be used as a reducing agent, and in polymer preparation.