Write a net ionic equation for the reaction that occurs when excess nitric acid (aq) and potassium sulfite (aq) are combined. Note: Sulfites follow the same solubility trends as sulfates.
To write a net ionic equation for this reaction, we need to first write the balanced molecular equation.
The chemical formula for nitric acid is HNO3 and the chemical formula for potassium sulfite is K2SO3. When these two compounds react, they will form potassium nitrate (KNO3) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas as products.
The balanced molecular equation for this reaction is:
2 HNO3(aq) + K2SO3(aq) -> 2 KNO3(aq) + SO2(g) + H2O(l)
To obtain the net ionic equation, we need to break down the soluble ionic compounds into their individual ions and cancel out the spectator ions, which are the ions that appear on both sides of the equation and do not participate in the actual reaction.
The ionic compounds involved in this reaction are potassium nitrate (KNO3), which is fully soluble, and potassium sulfite (K2SO3), which is also fully soluble based on the solubility trends of sulfites and sulfates.
The net ionic equation for this reaction is:
2 H+(aq) + SO3^2-(aq) -> SO2(g) + H2O(l)
In this equation, the spectator ions, K+ and NO3-, have been removed as they do not participate in the reaction.