To dissociate means to take apart.
When ionic compounds (compounds made from metals and non-metals) like sodium chloride ##NaCl## or iron(III) sulfate ##Fe_2(SO_4)_3## are dissolved in water they come apart into positive (metal) ions and negative (non-metal) ions.
When you write a dissociation reaction you separate the two ions place their charges above their symbols and then balance the entire equation.
For example the dissociation of sodium chloride would look like this:
##NaCl Na^+ + Cl^-##
The dissociation of iron(III) sulfate would look like this:
##Fe_2(SO_4)_3 2Fe^(3+) + 3SO_4^(2-)##
How can I write dissociation equations?
March 18th, 2019 admin