Chapter Four: Reactions

in Aqueous Solution
Learning Outcomes:
Identify compounds as acids or bases, and as strong, weak, or
nonelectrolytes
Recognize reactions by type and be able to predict the products
of simple acid–base, precipitation, and redox reactions.
Calculate molarity and use it to convert between moles of a
substance in solution and volume of the solution.
Describe how to carry out a dilution to achieve a desired solution
concentration.
Describe how to perform and interpret the results of a titration.

Solutions
• Solution: A homogeneous mixture of two or more pure substances.
• Solvent: substance present in the greatest quantity.
• Solute: substance dissolved in the solvent.
• Electrolyte: Substance whose aqueous solutions contain ions (e.g. NaCl)
• Nonelectrolyte: Substance that does not form ions in solution (e.g.
C12H22O11)

1
 Dissolution in water

Electrolytes
• A strong electrolyte dissociates completely when
dissolved in water.
HCl (aq) H+ (aq) + Cl– (aq)
• A weak electrolyte only dissociates partially when
dissolved in water.
CH3COOH (aq) H+ (aq) + CH3COO– (aq)

2
 Solubility of Ionic Compounds
• Not all ionic compounds dissolve in water.
• A list of solubility guidelines is used to decide
what combination of ions will dissolve.

You need to know the solubility guidelines on this table.

Precipitation Reactions
• A precipitation reaction involves the
formation of an insoluble product or products
from the reaction of soluble reactants. The
solid is called a precipitate.
• Example: Mixing AgNO3 and LiCl, both of
which are soluble, produces insoluble AgCl.

AgNO3(aq) + LiCl(aq) AgCl(s) + LiNO3(aq)

3
 Precipitation Reaction

Precipitation Reactions
What insoluble compound, if any, will form when
solutions of Pb(NO3)2 and Na2SO4 are mixed?
1) Note the ions present in the reactants.
2) Consider the possible cation-anion combinations.
3) Use Table 4.1 to determine if any of the
combinations is insoluble.
4) Write the chemical equation.
Anions Cations
Na+ Pb2+
NO3- soluble NaNO3 soluble Pb(NO3)2
SO42- soluble Na2SO4 insoluble PbSO4

Pb(NO3)2 (aq) + Na2SO4(aq)  PbSO4(s) + 2NaNO3(aq)

4
 Metathesis (Exchange) Reactions
• Metathesis comes from a Greek word that means
“to transpose”. The ions in the reactant compounds
exchange, or transpose, ions
• The molecular equation lists the reactants and
products in the overall reaction and includes the
states of matter.

AgNO3(aq) + KCl(aq)  AgCl(s) + KNO3(aq)

1) Use the chemical formulas of the reactants to determine

which ions are present.
2) Write formulas for the products: cation from one reactant,
anion from the other. Use charges to write proper
subscripts.
3) Check solubility rules. If either product is insoluble, a
precipitate forms.
4) Balance the equation.

Complete Ionic Equation

• In the complete ionic equation all strong
electrolytes (strong acids, strong bases, and
soluble ionic salts) are dissociated into their
ions.
• This more accurately reflects the species that
are found in the reaction mixture.

Ag+ (aq) + NO3- (aq) + K+ (aq) + Cl- (aq) 

AgCl (s) + K+ (aq) + NO3- (aq)

5
 Net Ionic Equation
• To form the net ionic equation, cross out
anything that does not change from the left
side of the equation to the right.
Ag+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + K+(aq) + Cl-(aq) 
AgCl (s) + K+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
• The only things left in the equation are those
things that change (i.e., react) during the
course of the reaction.
Ag+(aq) + Cl-(aq)  AgCl (s)
• Those things that didn’t change (and were
deleted from the net ionic equation) are called
spectator ions.

Writing Net Ionic Equations

1. Write a balanced molecular equation.

2. Dissociate all strong electrolytes.
3. Cross out anything that remains
unchanged from the left side to the right
side of the equation (spectator ions).
4. Write the net ionic equation with the
species that remain.

6
 Example
Overall equation:
Pb(NO3)2(aq) + Na2SO4(aq) 
PbSO4(s) + 2NaNO3(aq)
Write the net ionic equation.
Net ionic equation:
Pb2+(aq) + SO42-(aq)  PbSO4(s)

Example
Write the net ionic equation for the
reaction of HCl(aq) and KOH(aq).

Answer: H+(aq) + OH-(aq)  H2O(l)

7
 Acids
• Substances that ionize in
aqueous solution and increase
the concentration of H+ when
dissolved in water (Arrhenius).
• Proton donors (Brønsted–Lowry).

monoprotic acid diprotic acid

Bases
• Substances that increase the
concentration of OH− when
dissolved in water (Arrhenius).
• Proton acceptors, react with H+
(Brønsted–Lowry).
Substances do not have to contain OH– to be a base.

8
 Classification: Strong and Weak
• Strong acids completely dissociate
in water, whereas weak acids
partially dissociate.
• Strong bases dissociate to metal
cations and hydroxide anions in
water; weak bases only partially
react to produce hydroxide anions.

Strong and Weak Electrolyte

9
 Neutralization Reactions
Generally, when solutions of an acid and a base are
combined, the products are a salt and water.
• Can be written as molecular, complete ionic, or net
ionic equations.

Neutralization Reactions

10
 Gas-Forming Reactions
• These reactions do not give the product expected
for a metathesis reaction.
• The expected product decomposes to give a
gaseous product (e.g. CO2, SO2, or H2S).

CaCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) CaCl2 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
NaHCO3 (aq) + HBr (aq) NaBr (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
SrSO3 (s) + 2 HI (aq) SrI2 (aq) + SO2 (g) + H2O (l)
Na2S (aq) + H2SO4 (aq)  Na2SO4 (aq) + H2S (g)

Redox Reactions
Batteries Corrosion

Fuels

Manufacturing metals

11
 Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
• An oxidation occurs
when an atom or ion
loses electrons.
• A reduction occurs
when an atom or ion
gains electrons.
• One cannot occur
without the other.

Oxidation Numbers
To determine if an oxidation-reduction reaction has occurred, we
assign an oxidation number to each element in a neutral
compound or charged entity.
• The oxidation number may be a positive or negative number.
• The sum of the oxidation numbers in a neutral compound is 0.
• The sum of the oxidation numbers in a polyatomic ion is the
charge on the ion.
• An oxidation-reduction reaction is one in which some of the
elements change oxidation number during the course of the
reaction.
• In a balanced equation the sum of the changes in oxidation
numbers is zero.

12
 Oxidation Numbers
Rules to assign oxidation numbers (ox. #).
1. Each atom in free element has ox. # = 0.
Zn O2 O3 I2 S8 P4
2. In simple ions, ox. # = charge on ion.
-1 for Cl- +2 for Mg2+

3a. The ox. # of O is normally -2, except in

peroxides.
O is -2 in NO O is -1 in Na2O2

Oxidation Numbers
3b. The ox. # of H is +1 when bonded to
nonmetals and -1 when bonded to metals.
H is +1 in CH4 H is -1 in CaH2
3c. The ox. # of F is ALWAYS -1 with all other
elements.
FeF3 PF5 SF6 OF2
The ox. # of Cl, Br and I are always -1, except
when combined with O or F, then are positive.
4. Algebraic sum of oxidation numbers
= 0 for a neutral compound
= overall charge for an ion

13
 Displacement Reactions

Activity Series

Any metal on the list can be oxidized by the ions of elements below it.

14
 Displacement Reactions

Elements higher on the activity series are more reactive. They will exist as ions.
The element below will exist as the element.

Molarity
• Two solutions can contain the same
compounds but be quite different because the
proportions of those compounds are different.
• Molarity is one way to measure the amount
dissolved, or the concentration of a solution.

moles of solute
Molarity (M) =
volume of solution in liters

Molarity (M) is often expressed as the number of

moles of solute in one liter of solution.

15
 Example: Molarity of a Solution
What is the molar concentration of NaF in a
solution prepared by dissolving 2.51 g of NaF
in enough water to form 200. mL of solution?
Molar mass Volume (L) Molarity
Mass of NaF Moles of NaF of NaF
of NaF of solution solution

Molarity of Ions
One mole of K2SO4 dissolves in water to form
two moles of K+ ions and one mole of SO42- ions.
H2O
K2SO4(s) → 2K+(aq) + SO42-(aq)

16
Example: Molarity of Ions in a Solution
In the following pair of solutions, indicate which has
a higher concentration of K+ ions. A 0.100 M K2SO4
solution or a 0.150 M KCl solution.

Example: Molarity of Ions in Mixed Solutions

Indicate the concentration of each ion present in the
solution formed by mixing 34.6 mL of 0.100 M K2SO4
and 18.3 mL of 0.150 M KCl.

17
 Preparing a Solution

Dilution
Solutions of lower concentration can be prepared by dilution of more
concentrated solutions of known molarity

Volume (L) Molarity Molarity Volume (L)

Moles of
of dilute solute concentrated
solution of dilute of solution
concentrated

18
 Dilution
In a dilution problem: moles of solute in dilute solution
= moles of solute in the concentrated solution
Mconc x Vconc = Mdil x Vdil
Use this formula only for dilution problems, not for
problems involving reaction equations.
Examples
1) Describe how you would prepare a 50.0 mL solution of 4.00
M K2SO4. Calculate the volume of 4.00 M K2SO4 that is needed
to prepare 600. mL of a 0.0200 M solution of K2SO4. Calculate
the molar concentration of K+ ions in the 0.0200 M solution.

2) A 35.0 mL sample of 1.00 M KBr and a 60.0 mL sample of

0.600 M KBr are mixed. The solution is then heated to
evaporate water until the total volume is 50.0 mL. What is the
molarity of the KBr in the final solution?

Molarities in Stoichiometric Calculations

19
 Stoichiometry Calculations for
Reactions in Solution
• Molarity is a conversion between volume
(L) of solution and moles of solute. For a
2.00 molar solution of KCl:
2.00 mol KCl = 1 L KCl
• In stoichiometric calculations with
equations molarity is used to calculate
moles of solute from volume of solution
analogous to using molar mass to
calculate moles from mass of a solid.

Example:
Calculate the mass of lead(II) sulfate
formed in the reaction of 145 mL of 0.123 M
lead(II) nitrate and excess sodium sulfate.

20
 Titration
The analytical technique in which one can calculate the
concentration of a solute in a solution.

Titrations
• In a titration, the concentration and volume of a
known solution is used to determine the unknown
concentration of a second solution.
• Equivalence point: the point in a titration
where stoichiometrically equivalent amounts of
the two reactants have been added.

21
Titration Using Phenolphthalein Indicator
• Left: acidic solution with indicator added
• Center: end point - very slight pink color
• Right: pink color after excess base added

Example
Calculate the molarity of an HCl solution if
26.4 mL of the solution neutralizes 30.0 mL of
a 0.120 molar solution of Ba(OH)2.

22
 Example
A 16.0 mL aliquot of a 0.220 M solution of
H2SO4 is titrated with a 0.211 M NaOH solution.
What volume (mL) of base will it take to reach
the equivalence point?

Example
What mass of lead(II) chloride forms in the
reaction of 24.3 mL of 1.34 M lead(II) nitrate
and 38.1 mL of 1.22 M sodium chloride?

23
 Example
Consider 6.82 g Sr(NO3)2 is dissolved in enough
water to form 0.500 L solution. A 0.100 L sample is
withdrawn and titrated with a 0.0335 M solution of
Na2CrO4. What volume of Na2CrO4 solution is needed
to precipitate all the Sr2+(aq) as SrCrO4?

Example
A 1.248 g limestone rock, which contains CaCO3 and other
compounds, is pulverized and treated with 30.00 mL of
1.035 M HCl solution. The excess acid requires 11.56 mL of
1.010 M NaOH for neutralization. Calculate the percent by
mass of calcium carbonate in the rock, assuming it is the
only substance reacting with the HCl solution.

24