Complete and balance the molecular equation, including phases, for aqueous solutions of ammonium carbonate and lead (II) nitrate.

Question

https://gyazo.com/f04ca7de357f29e5ac1680b3b1af9c6c

Answer 1

Hi John,

Happy to answer this question for you. To start, you must be able to predict the products of this reaction and follow solubility rules (which can usually be found in a table in your textbook) to predict if there is a precipitate that forms. This looks like a double displacement reaction!

It helps if you have your polyatomic ions memorized!:

Ammonium: NH₄⁺

Carbonate: CO₃^2-

Nitrate: NO₃^-

So, your molecular equation looks pretty good to me. Looks like you're just missing phase designations!

Pb(NO₃)₂ (aq) + (NH₄)₂CO₃ (aq) --> PbCO₃ (s) + 2NH₄NO₃ (aq)

Always remember to include phase designations and make sure the equation is balanced before moving on. Good job!

For the complete ionic equation, we just write each of the compounds from the molecular equation broken up into their respective ions. The only exception is for the precipitate (the solid that forms, lead (II) carbonate), which we keep written together. This represents what is going on in solution: the soluble ionic compounds dissociate into their respective ions while the insoluble ionic compounds stay stuck together.

It looks like you got most of this correct - just something funky going on with the 2 nitrate ions on the products side. Good job with including phase designations!

Pb²⁺ (aq) + 2NO₃^- (aq) + 2NH₄^- (aq) + CO₃^2- (aq) --> PbCO₃ (s) + 2NH₄⁺ (aq) + 2NO₃^- (aq)

Hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if you have any follow up questions about this.

Best,

Chris