separated ions
When chemicals in solution react, the proper way of writing the chemical formulas of the dissolved ionic compounds is in terms of the dissociated ions, not the complete ionic formula. A complete ionic equation is a chemical equation in which the dissolved ionic compounds are written as separated ions. Solubility rules are very useful in determining which ionic compounds are dissolved and which are not. For example, when NaCl aq reacts with AgNO3 aq in a double-replacement reaction to precipitate AgCl s and form NaNO3 aq , the complete ionic equation includes NaCl, AgNO3, and NaNO3 written as separated ions:.