Ionic equations are a type of chemical equation that show the ions involved in a chemical reaction. They focus on the species that actually participate in the reaction, omitting the spectator ions that do not change during the process. This makes it easier to understand the underlying chemical changes. In an ionic equation, reactants and products are represented as ions, which are charged particles. For example, in a reaction between sodium chloride and silver nitrate, the ionic equation highlights the formation of silver chloride while excluding the sodium and nitrate ions that remain unchanged.