Write and balance the chemical equation for the thermal decomposition of lithium nitrate.

Lithium nitrate, unlike other alkali metal nitrates, decomposes upon heating to form lithium oxide, nitrogen dioxide gas, and oxygen gas. This is due to lithium's small size and high polarizing power, which makes its decomposition similar to that of Group 2 nitrates.

To balance the lithium atoms, we need 2 moles of LiNO$_3$ to produce 1 mole of Li$_2$O.

Now, let's check the oxygen atoms:
Reactants: $2 \times 3 = 6$ oxygen atoms.
Products: 1 (from Li$_2$O) $+ (2 \times 2)$ (from NO$_2$) $+ 2$ (from O$_2$) $= 1 + 4 + 2 = 7$ oxygen atoms.
The oxygen atoms are not balanced. We need to adjust the coefficients.
Let's try starting with 4 moles of LiNO$_3$.

Check the balance:
Lithium (Li): Reactants = 4, Products = $2 \times 2 = 4$. (Balanced)
Nitrogen (N): Reactants = 4, Products = $4 \times 1 = 4$. (Balanced)
Oxygen (O): Reactants = $4 \times 3 = 12$. Products = 2 (from Li$_2$O) $+ (4 \times 2)$ (from NO$_2$) $+ 2$ (from O$_2$) $= 2 + 8 + 2 = 12$. (Balanced)

The balanced chemical equation for the thermal decomposition of lithium nitrate is: