Sure, let's go through the steps to determine the net ionic equation for the reaction between silver nitrate ([tex]$AgNO_3$[/tex]) and potassium chloride ([tex]$KCl$[/tex]).
### Step 1: Write the balanced molecular equation
First, we need to write the balanced molecular equation for the reaction:
[tex]\[ AgNO_3 (aq) + KCl (aq) \rightarrow AgCl (s) + KNO_3 (aq) \][/tex]
### Step 2: Write the complete ionic equation
Next, break down all the soluble strong electrolytes (compounds that dissolve in water) into their constituent ions:
[tex]\[ Ag^+ (aq) + NO_3^- (aq) + K^+ (aq) + Cl^- (aq) \rightarrow AgCl (s) + K^+ (aq) + NO_3^- (aq) \][/tex]
### Step 3: Identify and remove the spectator ions
Spectator ions are ions that appear on both sides of the complete ionic equation and do not participate in the actual reaction. Here, the [tex]$K^+$[/tex] and [tex]$NO_3^-$[/tex] ions are spectator ions.
Since they appear unchanged on both sides of the equation, we can remove them to find the net ionic equation.
### Step 4: Write the net ionic equation
After removing the spectator ions, we get the net ionic equation, which includes only the species that participate in the reaction:
[tex]\[ Ag^+ (aq) + Cl^- (aq) \rightarrow AgCl (s) \][/tex]
This net ionic equation shows that silver ions ([tex]$Ag^+$[/tex]) react with chloride ions ([tex]$Cl^-$[/tex]) to form solid silver chloride ([tex]$AgCl$[/tex]). The phases are indicated clearly: (aq) for aqueous and (s) for solid.
