Unit 4: Topic 3 - Representation of Reactions

Question 1

Define what a spectator ion is, and draw the representations for the complete ionic equation and net ionic equation for the reaction of sodium chloride with silver nitrate.

Answer 1

A spectator ion in a chemical reaction is any ion that are present as both reactants and products. For
example, in the link provided, NO3- is a spectator ion because it retains its ion properties when both a
product and reactant.
The link provided gives a diagram for a complete ionic equation. To answer the question of a net ionic
equation, simply remove the spectator ions