Final answer:
The net ionic equation for the reaction between sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) is CO3^2-(aq) + 2H+(aq) → H2O(l) + CO2(g), which shows the reaction of carbonate ions with hydrogen ions to produce water and carbon dioxide.
Step-by-step explanation:
When sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) are mixed in an aqueous solution, a chemical reaction takes place. The net ionic equation for this reaction can be derived by following these steps:
Write the balanced molecular equation for the reaction:
Na2CO3(aq) + 2HCl(aq) → 2NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
Write the full ionic equation by dissociating all strong electrolytes into their constituent ions:
2Na+(aq) + CO32-(aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) → 2Na+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
Identify and remove the spectator ions (ions that appear on both sides of the equation in the same form) to find the net ionic equation:
CO32-(aq) + 2H+(aq) → H2O(l) + CO2(g)
The reaction between sodium carbonate and hydrochloric acid thus simplifies to the combination of carbonate ions and hydrogen ions to form water and carbon dioxide gas.