1. Balanced Chemical Equation:
CaCl₂(aq) + 2AgNO₃(aq) → Ca(NO₃)₂(aq) + 2AgCl(s)
2. Identifying the Ions in Solution:
* CaCl₂(aq): Ca²⁺(aq) + 2Cl⁻(aq)
* AgNO₃(aq): Ag⁺(aq) + NO₃⁻(aq)
* Ca(NO₃)₂(aq): Ca²⁺(aq) + 2NO₃⁻(aq)
* AgCl(s): This is a solid precipitate and does not dissociate into ions.
3. Full Ionic Equation:
Ca²⁺(aq) + 2Cl⁻(aq) + 2Ag⁺(aq) + 2NO₃⁻(aq) → Ca²⁺(aq) + 2NO₃⁻(aq) + 2AgCl(s)
Key Points:
* Spectator Ions: Notice that Ca²⁺ and NO₃⁻ ions appear on both sides of the equation. These are called spectator ions because they don't directly participate in the reaction.
* Net Ionic Equation: To focus on the essential reaction, we can eliminate the spectator ions to get the net ionic equation:
2Ag⁺(aq) + 2Cl⁻(aq) → 2AgCl(s)
This equation represents the formation of the silver chloride precipitate.