What is the reaction of N2O5 and H2O?

The reaction between N2O5 and H2O results in the product HNO3. The balanced equation is written as H2O + N2O5 = 2 HNO3. N2O5 represents the compound dinitrogen pentoxide, H2O represents water and HNO3 represents the compound nitric acid.

During the reaction, the atoms from one molecule of dinitrogen pentoxide and one molecule of H2O combine to form two molecules of nitric acid. Nitric acid can also be produced by combining water with nitric oxide or nitrogen dioxide. The balanced equation is found using a process called stoichiometry, which ensures that the same amount of matter is present both before and after the reaction and in accordance with the law for the conservation of mass.