Question

Justify the choice of a net ionic equation for describing this reaction.

Answer 1

Full question:

Conditions around hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean floor can enable chemical reactions that produce solid materials. A student models one of these reactions by combining aqueous Ca(OH)2 and Na2SO4, and observes the formation of a solid in a liquid.

A. Justify the choice of a net ionic equation for describing this reaction.
B . Write and balance a net ionic equation for the reaction. Show your original equation as well as the balanced one.
C. Explain any changes you made to balance the equation.

Answer 2

For part A) the student observed the formation of a solid in a liquid, which indicates this is a precipitation reaction. For precipitation reactions, only some of the ions in the reaction form the precipitate, and the other ions remain unreacted. Therefore, to simplify the equation, we write net ionic equations by excluding the unreacted ions to focus on the ions that are actually undergoing a chemical reaction.

You only posted part A) but if you need help with parts B-C I would be more than happy to assist.