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Aqueous Solutions and Precipitation Reactions

aqueous solution - solutions in which water is the dissolving medium  

  • water able to dissolve wide assortment of substances
  • most chemical reactions require water to take place
  • solution - homogeneous mixture of 2+ substances
  • solvent - substance in the solution in greater quantity
  • solute - other substances besides the solvent in a solution

electrolytic properties - conducts electricity due to the ions floating in the solution 

  • electrolyte - substance whose aqueous solution contains ions
  • nonelectrolyte - substance whose aqueous solution doesn't contain ions
  • usually only ionic compounds can form electrolytic solutions
  • polarity of water breaks apart ionic compounds and keeps them apart
  • certain molecular substances (ex. acids) can break into ions
  • strong electrolyte - dissociates completely into ions
  • weak electrolyte - dissociates partly into ions; ions and original compound exists in a state of chemical equilibrium (reversible reaction)
  • double arrow - represents ionization of weak electrolytes
  • single arrow - represents ionization of strong electrolytes
  • soluble ionic compounds are strong electrolytes

precipitation reaction - reactions that result in the formation of an insoluble product 

  • precipitate - insoluble solid formed by a reaction in the solution
  • occurs when oppositely charged ions attract each other so strongly that they form an insoluble solid
  • solubility - amount of substance that can be dissolved in a given quantity of water
  • insoluble - defines any substance w/ solubility less than 0.01 mol/L
  • in reactions between 2 strong electrolytes, determine all the possible combinations of ions to see which are soluble

soluble ionic compounds

  • all compounds containing nitrate (NO3-)
  • all compounds containing C2H3O2-
  • all compounds containing ammonium (NH4+)
  • all compounds containing alkali metals
  • compounds w/ chloride (Cl-) besides thoses w/ Ag+, Hg22+, Pb2+
  • compounds w/ bromide (Br-) besides those w/ Ag+, Hg22+, Pb2+
  • compounds w/ iodine (I-) besides those w/ Ag+, Hg22+, Pb2+
  • compounds w/ sulfate (SO4 2-) besides those w/ Sr2+, Ba2+, Hg22+, Pb2+

insoluble ionic compounds

  • compounds w/ sulfide (S2-) besides those w/ Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+
  • compounds w/ carbonate (CO32-)
  • compounds w/ phosphate (PO43-)
  • compounds w/ hydroxide (OH-) besides those w/ Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+

metathesis (exchange) reactions - reactions where ions exchange partners

  • ex. single replacement or double replacement reactions
  • occurs in precipitation/acid-base reactions

ionic equations - sometimes useful to show if the dissolved substances are ions or molecules

  • molecular equation - shows chemical formulas of reactants/products w/o indicating ionic characteristics
  • complete ionic equation - equation written showing all soluble electrolytes as ions
  • spectator ions - ions that appear in identical forms on both sides of an equation
  • net ionic equation - when spectator ions are left out
  • if all ions in a complete ionic equation are spectators, then no reaction occurs
  • more than 1 set of reactants can result in the same net ionic equation
Subject: 
Chemistry
Subject X2: 
Chemistry

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