Redox part 3

Ionic equations (from half equations)

This is the easy bit. All we need to do is combine the two half equations to get the ionic equation.

you must have one reduction and one oxidation half equation to do this. If for example, you have
two reduction equations then you need to reverse one of the equations. The electrons must be on
opposite sides.

Looking at our Zn and Ag example again, the two half equations are:

Zn(s) Zn2+(aq) + 2e-

Ag+(aq) + e- Ag(s)

Your aim when adding half equation together is to cancel electrons. This means you need to have the
same number of electrons in each half equation (and on opposite sides).

1. Balance the electrons:

There are 2 electrons in the Zn oxidation half equation and only 1 in the Ag reduction half equation. So
we need to multiply all of the Ag equation by 2:

2Ag+(aq) + 2e- 2Ag(s)

2. Combine the equations

Now we can simply and add together the two half equations by adding together everything on the same
sides of the arrow:

Zn(s) + 2Ag+(aq) + 2e- Zn2+(aq) + 2Ag(s) + 2e-

3. Cancel the electrons

Zn(s) + 2Ag+(aq) + 2e- Zn2+(aq) + 2Ag(s) + 2e-

you dont have to write in the electrons, I only did this to show you what it would look like.
 4. Write out what you are left with

Zn(s) + 2Ag+(aq) Zn2+(aq) + 2Ag(s)

And that is the ionic equation. This was a very simple example but the principles are the same for any
other example.

Half equations from the ionic equation

This is going backwards when given the ionic equation.

I recommend to do this in two steps. For example, here is an ionic equation:

8H+ + 8I- + H2SO4 4I2 + H2S + H2O

Remember that this equation is constructed from two half equations. My advice is to split this equation
in half the components that make up the two half equations and then just balance the half equations
as normal.

its very difficult to do it in one go from the ionic equation and you will get into a mess.

Id also advise ignoring the large numbers before the compounds and also initially ignoring water and H+.

Rules:

1. Accumulate things that look the same:

2. Ignore the large numbers

3. Ignore H2O and H+

The first thing you need to do is split the equation into two halves and look for similar things.

In this example we have I- and I2, so it is likely this forms one of the half equations:

I- I2 (then balance it as usual)

2I- I2 + 2e- (oxidation)

This leaves us with H2SO4 and H2S. I know to use these as they both have sulphur in them and Im ignoring
H+ and H2O.

H2SO4 H2S

Then just balance it by adding H2Os and H+ ions to give:

H2SO4 + 8H+ + 8e- H2S + 4H2O (reduction)

The sulphur is being reduced: in H2SO4 the S is 6+ and in H2S it is 2-.

Ionic equations from chemical equations

As was mentioned in the part 1 of this tutorial, you can construct ionic equations from normal chemical
equations.

To do this, you have to remove spectator ions from the equation to leave you only with the species that
have reacted. A spectator ion is an ion that doesnt react.

by reacting, we mean changing physical state i.e. (l) (aq) or (s) (l) etc. or changing oxidation
state.

Luckily there is a brilliant method for doing this that works every time.

Example:

CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq) CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

Above is the full chemical equation. All we have to do is identify the spectator ions, remove them and
write out what is left.

Rules:

1. if something is solid, liquid or gas, leave it as it is.

2. if something is aqueous, split it into ions.

3. look for ions that are the same on both sides and cancel them.
The problem with spectator ions is that you might not be certain which are the spectator ions. Just follow
the rules above and youll get it correct every time.

Using the above example I have split the aqueous species into ions:

CuO(s) + 2H+(aq) + SO42-(aq) Cu2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) + H2O(l)

The only ions that are the same on both sides are the SO42-, so we can cancel them to leave us with the
ionic equation:

CuO(s) + 2H+(aq) Cu2+(aq) + H2O(l)

Common Questions
Acid/base

Acid + Base Salt + H2O

HCl + NaOH NaCl + H2O

Ionic equation: H+ + OH- H2O

In this acid base neutralisation reaction, the ionic equation is always the same, no matter what acid or
base you use.

Acid/carbonate

Acid + Carbonate Salt + H2O + CO2

2HCl + Na2CO3 2NaCl + H2O + CO2

Ionic equation: 2H+ + CO32- H2O + CO2

The ionic equation is always the same, no matter what acid or carbonate you use.

Halide ion test

 AgNO3(aq) + KI(aq) AgI(s) + KNO3(aq)

Ionic equation: Ag+(aq) + I-(aq) AgI(s)

When a precipitate is formed, just split it into the ions that made up the solid