net ionic equation example
Net ionic equation example
Answer: A net ionic equation is a chemical equation that shows only the species that are directly involved in the chemical reaction, omitting the spectator ions that do not change during the reaction. Here’s a step-by-step example to illustrate how to write a net ionic equation:
Example Reaction:
Let’s consider the reaction between aqueous solutions of sodium chloride (NaCl) and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) to form silver chloride (AgCl) precipitate and sodium nitrate (NaNO₃).
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Write the balanced molecular equation:
\text{NaCl}(aq) + \text{AgNO}_3(aq) \rightarrow \text{AgCl}(s) + \text{NaNO}_3(aq) -
Write the complete ionic equation:
- Dissociate all strong electrolytes (soluble salts, strong acids, and strong bases) into their ions.
\text{Na}^+(aq) + \text{Cl}^-(aq) + \text{Ag}^+(aq) + \text{NO}_3^-(aq) \rightarrow \text{AgCl}(s) + \text{Na}^+(aq) + \text{NO}_3^-(aq) -
Identify and cancel the spectator ions:
- Spectator ions are ions that appear on both sides of the equation and do not participate in the reaction.
In this case, \text{Na}^+ and \text{NO}_3^- are spectator ions.
\text{Na}^+(aq) + \text{Cl}^-(aq) + \text{Ag}^+(aq) + \text{NO}_3^-(aq) \rightarrow \text{AgCl}(s) + \text{Na}^+(aq) + \text{NO}_3^-(aq)Canceling the spectator ions, we get:
\text{Cl}^-(aq) + \text{Ag}^+(aq) \rightarrow \text{AgCl}(s) -
Write the net ionic equation:
- The net ionic equation includes only the species that actually participate in the reaction.
\text{Cl}^-(aq) + \text{Ag}^+(aq) \rightarrow \text{AgCl}(s)
Summary:
The net ionic equation for the reaction between sodium chloride and silver nitrate is:
\text{Cl}^-(aq) + \text{Ag}^+(aq) \rightarrow \text{AgCl}(s)
This equation shows that chloride ions (\text{Cl}^-) and silver ions (\text{Ag}^+) combine to form solid silver chloride (\text{AgCl}), which precipitates out of the solution. The spectator ions (sodium and nitrate) are not included in the net ionic equation because they do not change during the reaction.