Net and overall ionic equation trouble

Question

I am having difficulty writing net and overall ionic equations for the following problems. K2C4H4O6 HOH = 2KOH C4H6O6 (dont know how to handle c4h4o6 and c4h6o6.) H2C2O4 2KOH = 2HOH K2C2O4 (don't know if K2C2O4 is soluble) Co(OH)2 2HI = COI2 HOH (dont know whether Co(OH)2 is a base or not, or whether CoI2 is a salt or is aqueous) MnSO4 2HOH = Mn(OH)2 H2SO4 (dont know what the compounds containing Mn are). I am also confused in general about how to tell if a substance is a salt as well as whether acids and bases are weak or strong. Are these things that just have to be memorized? I also don't know the solubility rules for acids, or are all acids soluble? Thanks for taking the time to read this. All responses are appreciated!

Answer 1

For balancing equations what you can do is list down elements in the left hand side and right hand side in columns, compare, then try to find your way out. Remember one thing that you need to count the number of atoms in every compound, like if there is H2O and CH4 no of H is 5.

Hydroxides are always bases, oxides can be bases or alkali, it is a fact.

There is no special class for a compound, it is classified according to the ions that dissociate (or more simply form) in water, whether it is H+ or OH-.

For solubility, you can read rules from the internet, I would suggest this link:

http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Equa...

A substance is a salt if there are no H or OH ions present, so NaCl is a salt. A substance is an acid when H ions are present, like H2SO4, and a substance is basic or alkaline if there is an oxide or a OH group present.