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How to Write an Ionic Equation As a Molecular Equation

Ions are metallic elements that have a positive or negative charge due to a different number of protons and electrons. These molecules can combine with other metals and some nonmetals to form ionic compounds that can participate in reactions with other ionic compounds. The overall reaction between two ionic compounds can be described by writing three different types of equations--ionic, net ionic and molecular. Both ionic and net ionic equations are written to identify the specific charged particles in the reaction--with the net ionic only identifying the ions that actually participate in the reaction. The molecular equation is the simplest form and shows the combined ionic compounds without the charges of the individual ions. The molecular equation can be determined from a given ionic equation.

Balanced ionic equation

Instructions

- 1
  Identify an ionic equation. For example, assume a reaction between sodium carbonate (CaCO3) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) forms solid calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The balanced ionic equation for this reaction is written as:
  
  (Ca 2+) + 2 (Cl -) + 2 (Na+) + (CO3 2-) -> CaCO3 + 2 (Na+) + 2 (Cl-)
- 2
  Identify the reactant compounds. The reactants are located on the left side of the equation. From the ionic equation example, it can be seen that calcium chloride (CaCl2) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) are the two reactant compounds.
- 3
  Determine the product compounds. The products are located on the right side of the equation and are identified in the example equation as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and sodium chloride (NaCl).
- 4
  Write the molecular equation as the reactant and product compounds without including the charges of the respective ions. The balanced molecular equation of the example equation would be expressed as:
  
  CaCl2 + Na2CO3 -> CaCO3 + 2NaCl

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