What does a net ionic equation include?

A net ionic equation is a chemical equation that highlights the specific species that undergo change during a reaction, focusing solely on the compounds and ions that participate in the chemical change. It effectively removes the spectator ions—those that do not undergo a change and remain in the same form in both reactants and products. By doing so, it simplifies the representation of the reaction to show only the ions and compounds actively involved in producing the final products, which clearly demonstrates the essential chemistry at play.

In contrast, including all reactants and products would result in a complete ionic equation, which does not simplify the reaction to just the active participants. Focusing only on solids ignores any ions that may be significant in a double displacement or precipitation reaction. Furthermore, accounting for all ions present in the solution, including spectators, does not provide the clarity that a net ionic equation is intended to offer, which is to emphasize the changes that are central to the reaction process.