Identify the characteristics of a precipitation reaction:

In this reaction, the two ionic salts in the solution dissociate, their ions exchange, and two new compounds are created, one of which separates out as a solid in the solution.

In the precipitation reaction, two soluble ionic salts dissolve in water and split into their ions to generate two new salts; one of the new salts is insoluble and precipitates out. Precipitate is the name given to this insoluble substance.

It is observed that throughout the reaction, the ions in the solution replace either the cation or the anion, two ions of the same charge. Involving the breaking of the two cations' or anions' initial bonds inside the reactant resulting in a twofold displacement reaction that produces two new products.

As an illustration, consider combining a solution of potassium chloride with silver nitrate. They separate into their component ions in the solution, swap positions as either cations (Ag⁺ and K⁺) or anions (NO^-₃ and Cl^-), and then undergo a twofold displacement process to create an insoluble salt of silver chloride, which is a white precipitate.

The reaction is as follows: ${\mathrm{AgNO}}_3\left(aq\right)+\mathrm{KCl}\left(aq\right)\to \mathrm{AgCl}\left(s\right)+{\mathrm{KNO}}_3\left(aq\right)$

Therefore, the characteristics of the precipitation reaction are option (D) the formation of insoluble solid and the reaction generally proceeds via double displacement.

Hence, the correct option is (D).