The heating of solid copper(II) carbonate is a thermal decomposition reaction . The addition of heat energy causes chemical bonds to break and the reactant decomposes into two products.

Word Equation:

copper(II) carbonate + heat ##rarr## copper(II) oxide + carbon dioxide

Molecular Equation:

##”CuCO”_3(“s”)## + heat ##rarr## ##”CuO”(“s”)## + ##”CO”_2(“g”)##

This reaction is accompanied by a color change. The green copper(II) carbonate turns into black copper(II) oxide.