Question

When the barium chloride test is performed on a known solution of 0.1 M `Na_2SO_4`, what do you expect the observed results to be?

Answer 1

I expect to see a white precipitate.

Explanation:

If you add a solution of barium chloride to a solution of sodium sulfate, barium sulfate forms.

Barium sulfate is insoluble in water. It appears as a white precipitate.

The reaction is a double displacement reaction.

The equation for the reaction is

`"BaCl"_2("aq") + "Na"_2"SO"_4("aq") → "BaSO"_4("s") + "2NaCl(s)"`

The net ionic reaction is

`"Ba"^(2+)("aq") + "SO"_4^"2-"("aq") → "BaSO"_4("s")`