Identify the reactants and products in the given chemical reaction. The reactants are sodium chloride (NaCl) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), both in aqueous solution.
Understand that in aqueous solutions, ionic compounds dissociate into their respective ions. Sodium chloride dissociates into Na+ and Cl- ions, while sodium carbonate dissociates into Na+ and CO3^2- ions.
Write the dissociation equations for each compound: NaCl(aq) β Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq) and Na2CO3(aq) β 2 Na+(aq) + CO3^2-(aq).
Combine the dissociated ions from the reactants to form the complete ionic equation. Since Na+ ions are common in both reactants, they remain unchanged, and Cl- ions from NaCl are also present.
The correct molecular equation should reflect the dissociation of the reactants into their ions without forming new compounds or gases. Therefore, the correct equation is: 2 NaCl(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) β 2 Na+(aq) + 2 Cl-(aq) + Na2CO3(aq).