Write a balanced net ionic equation for the following reactions in acid soln

Hydrogen Peroxide reacts w/an aqueos soln of sodium hypochlorite to form oxygen and chlorine gas

Here are the two half equations.

H2O2 ==>O2 + 2e + 2H^+
4H^+ + 2e + 2OCl^- ==> Cl2 + H2O
Add them and cancel anything common to each side.

where'd the sodium go

is sodium a spectator ion?

yes. I took the Na^+ out before I started.

i noticed that in other problems they do that too, why is that and what is the reason for ignoring it

Since it is a spectator ion it never enters into the reaction. That's what writing net ionic equations is all about; you include only those ions that are going about the reaction. Said another way, the H2O2 + OCl^- reaction is the same reaction with NaOCl, KOCl, LiOCl, etc. Of course those different ions would form different salts; e.g., Na would form NaCl, K would form KCl, Li would form LiCl, etc (if HCl were used as the acid) or Na2SO4, K2SO4 etc (if H2SO4 were used as the acid). H2O2 and OCl^- are what's reacting. I find it a little strange that you wondered where the Na^+ went but it didn't bother you that no anion was used for the H^+.

And is this the same case for if I am given a NIE and the problem says to complete the reaction by using Na(to make a compound)?

we learned that the H^+ cations were added to balance out the charge on both sides of the equation(for acids) and OH^- for bases

and also thanks a lot for explaining this to me

Yes, to complete a NIE, simply add cations of choice (or what someone give you) for the negative ions; the same with anions added to positive ions in the NIE.

thanks

To write a balanced net ionic equation for the given reaction, we need to follow a step-by-step process.

Step 1: Write the balanced chemical equation.

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) in an acidic solution is:

2 H2O2 + 2 NaClO → O2 + 2 H2O + 2 NaCl

Step 2: Identify the spectator ions.

In an acidic solution, the spectator ions are the ions that do not participate in the reaction and remain unchanged. In this reaction, the spectator ions are the sodium ions (Na+) and chloride ions (Cl-).

Step 3: Write the net ionic equation.

The net ionic equation includes only the ions and molecules that participate in the reaction. Thus, we remove the spectator ions from the balanced chemical equation:

H2O2 → O2 + 2 H2O

This is the balanced net ionic equation for the given reaction in an acidic solution.