4.2 Net Ionic Equations

Represent changes in matter with a balanced chemical or net ionic equation: i. For physical changes. ii. For given information about the identity of the reactants and/or product. iii. For ions in a given chemical reaction.

• All physical and chemical processes can be represented symbolically by balanced equations.
• Chemical equations represent chemical changes. These changes are the result of a rearrangement of atoms into new combinations; thus, any representation of a chemical change must contain equal numbers of atoms of every element before and after the change occurred. Equations thus demonstrate that mass and charge are conserved in chemical reactions.
• Balanced molecular, complete ionic, and net ionic equations are differing symbolic forms used to represent a chemical reaction. The form used to represent the reaction depends on the context in which it is to be used.