What is balanced net reaction?

Question

What is balanced net reaction? Is it different from net ionic equation?

I am told to predict the products of the following reactants in solution and provide the balanced net reaction. I wasn't sure what this meant and when I searched it up, it always led to results concerning net ionic equations instead.

For example, this equation here was given:

KOH_(aq) + H₂SO_4(aq) → __________________

I assumed I am to write out the ions, which I got:

1. K⁺
2. SO₄^2-
3. OH^-
4. H⁺

Then I did the criss-cross method to pair them up which I got:

1. K₂SO₄
2. H₂O

Lastly, I balanced the equation, which I got:

1. 2KOH_(aq) + H₂SO_4(aq) → K₂SO_4(aq) + 2H₂O_(l)

But I don't know if this is what balanced net reaction means. Any help with the term would be great!

Answer 1

To balance the NET reaction, you cancel out the spectator ions, i.e. those that appear on both sides of the equation. So it would look like this:

2H⁺(aq) + 2OH^-(aq) ==> 2H₂O(l)

The K⁺ and the SO₄^2- are spectators