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P2. PRECIPITATION & SOLUBILITY

 P2.4  Ionic equations for Precipitation Reactions

Ionic equations emphasise the important changes taking place in chemical reactions.
They include only those ions that undergo chemical change during a reaction.
Ions that do not change are called SPECTATOR IONS and are omitted. 

Probably the most straightforward method in writing ionic equations for precipitation reactions actually starts with a correct written chemical formula for the insoluble product salt, e.g., AgBr(s)
This solid should form on mixing solutions of silver nitrate and potassium bromide, for example, providing their concentrations are not too low.

Make equations from the skeletons below by filling the shaded cells with the appropriate number of the correct ions.

completion of ionic equations

Completing the exercises above is really not much more demanding than working out the formula of an ionic compound from a knowledge of the formulae of its constituent ions.

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