• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

States in chemical equations (1 Viewer)

Suvat

part timer
Joined
Feb 8, 2003
Messages
645
Gender
Male
HSC
N/A
Hey guys,
can you please explain to me the difference between the states (l), (aq) and (soln) seen in chemical equations?

Also, what is the difference between aqueous and non-aqueous solutions? Do they both dissolve stuff and such?:confused:

Thanks:)
 

t-i-m-m-y

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2002
Messages
1,756
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Originally posted by Suvat
Hey guys,
can you please explain to me the difference between the states (l), (aq) and (soln) seen in chemical equations?

Also, what is the difference between aqueous and non-aqueous solutions? Do they both dissolve stuff and such?:confused:

Thanks:)
aqueos is when the solution is in ion form
generally (aq) and soln mean the same thing tho aq is more commonly used

a non-aqueos solution is purely just water i think??

l is the pure liquid
 

kini mini

Active Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Messages
1,272
Location
Sydney
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2002
Originally posted by Suvat
can you please explain to me the difference between the states (l), (aq) and (soln) seen in chemical equations?
(l) - liquid form of the element or compound

(aq) - compound/element has been "dissolved" in water, and is presumably ionised to some degree.

(soln) - never written in an equation AFAIK! It's a common abbreviation for "solution", that's all.


Also, what is the difference between aqueous and non-aqueous solutions?
Aqueous - contains water, non-aqueous - doesn't contain water.
 

abdooooo!!!

Banned
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
1,655
Location
Australia, Auburn Gender: Male
Re: Re: States in chemical equations

the word aqueous is derived from the latin word aqua which means water.
Originally posted by kini mini
(soln) - never written in an equation AFAIK! It's a common abbreviation for "solution", that's all.
what do you mean? i have seen it written in equations a few times in different books.
 

luigi

***LouLou***
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
626
Location
sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2002
Re: Re: Re: States in chemical equations

Originally posted by abdooooo!!!
the word aqueous is derived from the latin word aqua which means water.
what do you mean? i have seen it written in equations a few times in different books.

.. don't use it
 

kini mini

Active Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Messages
1,272
Location
Sydney
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2002
Re: Re: Re: States in chemical equations

Originally posted by abdooooo!!!
what do you mean? i have seen it written in equations a few times in different books.
I don't remember ever seeing it in an equation :confused:. I've looked at Conquering, Pathways, Contexts, Atkins, Zumdahl...
 

abdooooo!!!

Banned
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
1,655
Location
Australia, Auburn Gender: Male
Originally posted by Suvat
can you please explain to me the difference between the states (l), (aq) and (soln) seen in chemical equations?
(l) just means substance is in liquid form by its self; (aq) means substance in solution with water; (soln) means substance in solution without water.

i forgot to answer your question earlier...hope this helps:)
 

marsenal

cHeAp bOoKs
Joined
Nov 12, 2002
Messages
273
Originally posted by abdooooo!!!
look at ConqChem Page 8...
I never noticed that either. I guess the fact that they have used (soln) and (aq) in the one equation emphasised the difference between the two.
But do you think they would seriesly mark you down if you used (aq) for all solutions?
 

mannnnndy

chocoholic
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
523
Location
northern beaches
Originally posted by abdooooo!!!
why do say that mannnnndy?
Because Ive never used it before, and besides the conq chem book Ive never seen it used so I dont think its a very widely used notation. Id stick with (aq) instead. I dont think you'll be asked about non aqueous solutions though, because even in uni you dont see them very much.
 

marsenal

cHeAp bOoKs
Joined
Nov 12, 2002
Messages
273
That makes it easier.
What I was also wondering was, if you leave out all the states does that mean everything is aqueaous?
I remember someone mentioning that to me, but they didn't sound to sure.
 

abdooooo!!!

Banned
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
1,655
Location
Australia, Auburn Gender: Male
Originally posted by mannnnndy

Because Ive never used it before, and besides the conq chem book Ive never seen it used so I dont think its a very widely used notation. Id stick with (aq) instead. I dont think you'll be asked about non aqueous solutions though, because even in uni you dont see them very much.
fair enough. even if you were gonna use it, it'll be pretty difficult to actually find a substance to use it with.
Originally posted by marsenal
What I was also wondering was, if you leave out all the states does that mean everything is aqueaous?
i don't think so. if there is a rule like that, then most of the books would be wrong. because they got equations with no states and that not all substances are aqueous. i think the only time you can assume a substance is aqueous without actually stating it, is when the substance is written as an ion, because ions can only exist in solution.
 

mannnnndy

chocoholic
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
523
Location
northern beaches
Originally posted by marsenal
That makes it easier.
What I was also wondering was, if you leave out all the states does that mean everything is aqueaous?
I remember someone mentioning that to me, but they didn't sound to sure.
If all the compounds on both sides of the equation are all aqueous then it means that no reaction actually takes place since as theyre all just ions in a solution. They would all just be spectator ions and just cancel out. Its kinda like getting salty water and adding more salty water to it, all you get is more salty water.
 

wogboy

Terminator
Joined
Sep 2, 2002
Messages
653
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2002
i think the only time you can assume a substance is aqueous without actually stating it, is when the substance is written as an ion, because ions can only exist in solution.
Ions can also be gaseous e.g. the chloride ion: Cl- (g) . This is particularly important when you study the topic of ozone and the atmosphere. So you must write the state of the substance all the time, even when writing ions because ions such as Cl- can exist in aqueous solution (such as in salt water), or in gaseous form (such as in our atmosphere).
 
Last edited:

abdooooo!!!

Banned
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
1,655
Location
Australia, Auburn Gender: Male
Originally posted by wogboy


Ions can also be gaseous e.g. the chloride ion: Cl- (g) . This is particularly important when you study the topic of ozone and the atmosphere. So you must write the state of the substance all the time, even when writing ions because ions such as Cl- can exist in aqueous solution (such as in salt water), or in gaseous form (such as in our atmosphere).
really? how come it never says that in the text books, maybe i haven't read it thoroughly enough. but i think its pretty safe to assume that a substance is aqueous when its written as an ion; from what i seen most of the books don't bother with naming the state of the ions.
 

t-i-m-m-y

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2002
Messages
1,756
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Originally posted by abdooooo!!!
really? how come it never says that in the text books, maybe i haven't read it thoroughly enough. but i think its pretty safe to assume that a substance is aqueous when its written as an ion; from what i seen most of the books don't bother with naming the state of the ions.

my chem teacher (who has now left these hols):confused: says that all ionic substances are aqueous and if things are in ions, they are aqueous
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top