Final answer:
The reaction in question is a precipitation reaction, which is a type of double replacement reaction resulting in solid barium sulfate and aqueous sodium chloride.
Step-by-step explanation:
The chemical reaction depicted as BaCl2(aq) + Na2SO4(aq) → BaSO4(s) + 2 NaCl(aq) is a precipitation reaction, which is a type of double replacement reaction. In this reaction, barium sulfate (BaSO4) forms as a solid precipitate indicating that BaSO4 is insoluble in water. The products of this reaction, BaSO4 and NaCl, are created by the exchange of the anions and cations between the reactants.
A key point to predicting the products of such reactions includes understanding the solubility rules for ionic compounds. While sodium chloride (NaCl) remains in an aqueous solution, barium sulfate creates a solid precipitate due to the low solubility of the sulfate when combined with barium ions. This reaction is representative of the types of chemical changes that occur when mixing aqueous solutions of ionic compounds.