Spectator ion?

[Tianna Nguyen 1I]

Hi, can someone explain what a spectator ion is?

[Alice Guey 1B]

Spectator ions are ions that are present in a solution but do not take part in a reaction in the solution. As a result, spectator ions are either written as both reactants and products of a reaction or omitted from the chemical equation altogether. In the context of acids and bases, an example of a spectator ion is an anion from a strong acid that composes a salt. Recall that strong acids ionize completely, so the anion will not react to form the acid again. The other component of the salt may participate in a reaction, but the anion will not.

[Anjali Kalagiri 3F]

Hi! Spectator ions are present in a vessel but will not interact with the reaction. These are often from very strong acids/bases, for example Na+ or Cl-. This happens because the acid/base/salt dissociates completely and the ions don't interact with the other species.

[Neelaj Das 3I]

A spectator ion is essentially a species, when adding up reactions to find the net reaction, is present on both the reactants and products side so it gets cancelled out. A spectator ion does not actually have any impact on the chemical reaction itself.

[Anthony_Rio_3K]

Can reactions with spectator Ions happen without them? If so, why are they included in the chemical reaction equation? Thanks!

[Shania Garrison Discussion 3E]

A spectator ion is a cation or anion that you would see attached to a strong base or strong acid. These are all of the groups 1 and 2 metal cations, as well as the anions from the strong acids list we are supposed to memorize. For example, in HCL, the Cl- would be considered a spectator ion, meaning that it will not affect the pH.

[Chelsea Tran 3H]

Spectator ions are ions that are present in a chemical reaction, but don't necessarily contribute to the reaction. They typically are there to balance the charges of the ions.