Question #5c044

A net ionic equation includes only the ions that participate in the formation of the precipitate (solid), water, or gas in a double replacement reaction. The reactants for a double replacement reaction must be soluble in water. Tin(IV) sulfide, #"SnS"_2#, is insoluble in water (Wikipedia article: Tin(IV) sulfide), therefore a double replacement reaction between tin(IV) sulfide and nitric acid, #"HNO"_3# is impossible.

However, it is possible that the tin(IV) sulfide and nitric acid are actually products of a double replacement reaction between tin(IV)nitrate, #"Sn"("NO"_3)"_4# and hydrosulfuric acid (name for aqueous hydrogen sulfide), #"H"_2"S"#. In that case, the molecular equation would be:

#"Sn"("NO"_3)"_4(aq)# + #"2H"_2"S"(aq)# #rarr# #"SnS"_2"(s)# + #"4HNO"_3"(aq)#

The net ionic equation involves only the ions that participated in the formation of the precipitate, water, or gas. In this case, a precipitate was formed. The net ionic equation for this reaction is:

#"Sn"^"4+"(aq)# + #"2S"^"2-"(aq)# #rarr# #"SnS"_2"(s)#