Answer to Question #79048 in General Chemistry for Abigail

Question

Predict the products of the reaction of Fe(NO_3)_3 with KSCN, write a balanced chemical equation.

Answer 1

Fe(NO3)3 (aq) + 3KSCN (aq) → Fe(SCN)3 (aq) + 3KNO3 (aq)

Fe+3 and SCN- combine to form a complex ion. The complex is very intensely coloured and this reaction is often used as a qualitative test for iron(III) ions.

The complete ionic equation would look like this:

Fe+3(aq) + 3NO3-(aq) + 3K+(aq) + 3SCN-(aq) → Fe(SCN)+2(aq) + 2SCN-(aq) + 3K+(aq) + 3NO3-(aq)

Cancelling out the spectator ions produces:

Fe+3(aq) + SCN-(aq) --> Fe(SCN)+2(aq)