Question

FeCl2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) FeCO3(s) + 2NaCl(aq) What are the spectator ions in this equation?

Answer 1

Answer:

Chloride (Cl⁻) and sodium (Na⁺) ions.

Explanation:

Hello,

In this case, since the aqueous species are actually dissociated when reacting and the solid species (ferric carbonate) remains undissolved, we can modify the given reaction as follows:

$FeCl_2(aq) + Na_2CO_3(aq) \rightarrow FeCO_3(s) + 2NaCl(aq)$

In such a way, dissociating the aqueous species we obtain:

$Fe^{2+}(aq)+2Cl^-(aq) + 2Na^+(aq)+CO_3^{2-}(aq) \rightarrow FeCO_3(s) + 2Na^+(aq)+2Cl^-(aq)$

It means that the net ionic equation is:

$Fe^{2+}(aq)+CO_3^{2-}(aq) \rightarrow FeCO_3(s)$

Therefore, the spectator ions are those were cancelled out, chloride (Cl⁻) and sodium (Na⁺).

Best regards.