Reduce the following equation to a net ionic equation:

[tex]\[ 2 \, \text{Na}^{+} + \, \text{SO}_{4}^{2-} + \, \text{Ba}^{2+} + 2 \, \text{Cl}^{-} \rightarrow 2 \, \text{Na}^{+} + 2 \, \text{Cl}^{-} + \, \text{BaSO}_{4} \][/tex]

Options:
A. [tex]\[ 2 \, \text{Na}^{+} + 2 \, \text{Cl}^{-} \rightarrow 2 \, \text{NaCl} \][/tex]

B. [tex]\[ \text{SO}_{4}^{2-} + \, \text{Ba}^{2+} \rightarrow \, \text{BaSO}_{4} \][/tex]

C. [tex]\[ 2 \, \text{Na}^{+} + \, \text{SO}_{4}^{2-} \rightarrow \, \text{Na}_{2}\text{SO}_{4} \][/tex]



Answer :

To reduce the following equation to a net ionic equation, we need to follow a step-by-step approach. The given equation is:

[tex]\[ \text{2 Na}^+ + \text{SO}_4^{2-} + \text{Ba}^{2+} + 2 \text{Cl}^− \rightarrow 2 \text{Na}^+ + 2 \text{Cl}^- + \text{BaSO}_4 \][/tex]

Here's the detailed step-by-step solution:

### Step 1: Write the Full Ionic Equation
The given equation already includes ions, so let's rewrite it to clearly show each ion:

[tex]\[ 2 \text{Na}^+ + \text{SO}_4^{2-} + \text{Ba}^{2+} + 2 \text{Cl}^- \rightarrow 2 \text{Na}^+ + 2 \text{Cl}^- + \text{BaSO}_4 \][/tex]

### Step 2: Identify Spectator Ions
Spectator ions are ions that do not participate in the actual chemical reaction and remain unchanged on both sides of the equation. In this case, the spectator ions are:
- [tex]\( \text{Na}^+ \)[/tex]
- [tex]\( \text{Cl}^- \)[/tex]

### Step 3: Remove Spectator Ions
To obtain the net ionic equation, we remove the spectator ions from both sides of the full ionic equation:

The spectator ions [tex]\( 2 \text{Na}^+ \)[/tex] and [tex]\( 2 \text{Cl}^- \)[/tex] are removed:

[tex]\[ \text{SO}_4^{2-} + \text{Ba}^{2+} \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 \][/tex]

### Step 4: Write the Net Ionic Equation
After removing the spectator ions, we are left with the following net ionic equation:

[tex]\[ \text{SO}_4^{2-} + \text{Ba}^{2+} \rightarrow \text{BaSO}_4 \][/tex]

This is the net ionic equation, which shows the actual chemical reaction taking place, involving only the ions that form the precipitate [tex]\( \text{BaSO}_4 \)[/tex].