Can anyone do reaction prediction of lithium metal is burned in air down to the net ionic equations?
Since lithium has a charge of 1+ and oxygen has a charge of 2-, the compound will be Li2O so that it has a neutral charge. The equation will be: Li(s) + O2(g) = Li2O(s) To balance it, we need two oxygens on the left side, so we put a 2 in front of Li2O: Li(s) + O2(g) = 2Li2O(s) Now we need four lithiums on the left side to balance it out: 4Li(s) + O2(g) = 2Li2O(s) To do the net ionic equation, just show the elements as ions and each ion’s charge: 4Li^+(s) + 2O^2-(g) = 2Li2O(s) When you have a diatomic element like oxygen, just put the two in front of it so you can see that it’s an ion. You can see that the charges balance out. Since there are no spectator ions in this equation, the total ionic equation is the same as the net ionic equation.
