A spectator ion is an
ion that exists as a
reactant and a
product in a
chemical equation. Spectator ions can be observed in the reaction of
aqueous solutions of
sodium chloride and
copper (II) sulfate:2Na+(aq) + 2Cl−(aq) + Cu2+(aq) + SO42−(aq) → 2Na+(aq) + SO42−(aq) + CuCl2
(s)The Na+ and SO42− ions are spectator ions since they remain unchanged on both sides of the equation. They simply "watch" the other ions react, hence the name. They are present in total ionic equations to balance the charges of the ions. In
reaction stoichiometry, spectator ions are removed from a complete ionic equation to form a net ionic equation. For the above example this yields:2Cl−(aq) + Cu2+(aq) → CuCl2 (s)
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A spectator ion is an ion that appears as both a reactant and a product in an
ionic equation . For example, in the ionic equation Ag+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq) = AgCl(s) + Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq) the sodium and nitrate ions are spectator ions.
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