So I had some questions about complete ionic equations that I did not quite get. How do I know when and when not to break up compounds into smaller things, I get that you can not break down H2O but that is the only one I am sure on.
In general though, ionic compounds disassociate in water; they always separate into the component ions. With more complex ions, you just have to memorize them and what they disassociate into. A common polyatomic ion is the sulfate ion, SO4^2-.
Water actually does disassociate, but it isn't important in ionic equations since it is what is dissolving the ionic compounds. Basically, water is one of the conditions (like temperature or pH) and so drops out of the equation.
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