By Andrew Youngker — Updated Aug 30, 2022

Net ionic equations simplify the description of chemical reactions by removing spectator ions, allowing chemists to focus on the species that actually change during the reaction.

Step 1: Write the balanced molecular equation

CH₃COOH + NaOH → H₂O + CH₃COONa

Step 2: Convert each compound to its ionic form

Acetic acid (CH₃COOH) is a weak acid and remains largely undissociated in solution, so it is kept as a whole molecule. Sodium hydroxide dissociates completely:

NaOH → Na⁺ + OH⁻

On the product side, water stays as H₂O, while sodium acetate dissociates into its ions:

CH₃COONa → Na⁺ + CH₃COO⁻

Step 3: Cancel spectator ions

The Na⁺ ion appears on both sides of the equation and does not participate in the reaction. It is therefore a spectator ion and is removed from the final expression.

Step 4: Write the net ionic equation

(CH₃COOH) + (OH⁻) → (H₂O) + (CH₃COO⁻)

TL;DR

Acetic acid stays intact until it reacts; remember to include proper charges for all ions and discard spectator ions to obtain the net ionic equation.