Core Reactions: Ion-exchange Reactions
Slide 26 of 31
Comparison of the three types of equations
For an ion-exchange reaction to occur, one of the products must be insoluble.
The difference between molecular and full ionic equations for a precipitation reaction:
– Soluble salts appear in  their dissociated or ionized (aqueous ionic) form in the full ionic equation. All other reagents are the same in both equations.
The difference between full ionic and net ionic equations for a precipitation reaction:
– Spectator ions—the aqueous ions that remain aqueous at the end of the reaction— appear in the full ionic equation but do not appear in the net ionic equation.
– Note again that a spectator ion(s) is(are) always an aqueous ion(s).