Compare with
net ionic equation and
molecular equation .An ionic equation is a balanced chemical equation in which strong electrolytes are written as dissociated ions. For example, Ag+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq) = AgCl(s) + Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq) is an ionic equation; AgNO3(aq) + NaCl(aq) = AgCl(s) + NaNO3(aq) is not.