Will precipitation occur when the following solutions are mixed? If so, write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction.
(a) Na2CO3 and AgNO3, (b) NaNO3 and NiSO4, (c) FeSO4 and Pb(NO3) 2
In order for precipitation occur, we must first write out the products of each reaction. These are double replacement reactions, where we can use the following formula: AB+CD --> AD + CB to predict the products. We also need to remember to write the correct product formulas by figuring out oxidation numbers for each element and polyatomic ion and cross multiplying them.
Once products are written out, we need to figure out if they are soluble or insoluble using the solubility chart. If the product is insoluble, it is a precipitate and therefore the reaction is a precipitation reaction. The insoluble product is abbreviated with (s) next to it, which stands for solid. The rest of the compounds have (aq) next to them which stands for aqueous, or dissolved in water.
Using this method, we can figure out that a and c give a precipitate while b does not.