Question

What will be the product when zinc and silver nitrate undergo a single-replacement reaction?

Answer 1

Silver metal and aqueous zinc nitrate.

Explanation:

This single replacement reaction will produce silver metal, `"Ag"`, and aqueous zinc nitrate, `"Zn"("NO"_3)_2`.

Zinc is above silver is the metal reactivity series, so it will replace silver in silver nitrate.

The balanced chemical equation that describes this reaction looks like this

`"Zn"_ ((s)) + 2"AgNO"_ (3(aq)) -> 2"Ag"_ ((s)) + "Zn"("NO"_ 3)_ (2(aq))`

Because silver nitrate and zinc nitrate are both soluble ionic compounds, you can rewrite this equation as the complete ionic equation first

`"Zn"_ ((s)) + 2"Ag"_ ((aq))^(+) + 2"NO"_ (3(aq))^(-) -> 2"Ag"_ ((s)) + "Zn"_ ((aq))^(2+) + 2"NO"_ (3(aq))^(-)`

then remove the spectator ions, which are those ions that are present on both sides of the equation

`"Zn"_ ((s)) + 2"Ag"_ ((aq))^(+) + color(red)(cancel(color(black)(2"NO"_ (3(aq))^(-)))) -> 2"Ag"_ ((s)) + "Zn"_ ((aq))^(2+) + color(red)(cancel(color(black)(2"NO"_ (3(aq))^(-))))`

to get the net ionic equation

`"Zn"_ ((s)) + 2"Ag"_ ((aq))^(+) -> 2"Ag"_ ((s)) + "Zn"_ ((aq))^(2+)`

Notice that this is also a redox reaction.

Here zinc metal is being oxidized to zinc cations, `"Zn"^(2+)`, and the silver cations, `"Ag"^(+)`, are being reduced to silver metal.