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Difficulty: EasyChemical Reactions and Compounds

In an acid-base neutralization reaction, aqueous hydrochloric acid (HCl\text{HCl}) mixes with aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH\text{NaOH}) to produce table salt (NaCl\text{NaCl}) and one neutral compound. What is the chemical formula of the missing product in the balanced reaction below?

Answer:HCl+NaOH→NaCl+\text{HCl} + \text{NaOH} \rightarrow \text{NaCl} + 【H2O】

Answer

Water (H2OH_2O)
In a neutralization reaction between an acid and a base, hydrogen ions (H+H^+) from the acid combine with hydroxide ions (OH−OH^-) from the base to produce water (H2OH_2O). The remaining sodium (Na+Na^+) and chloride (Cl−Cl^-) ions form the salt sodium chloride (NaClNaCl). Therefore, the missing product that balances the equation is H2OH_2O.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the characteristic reaction type and components.
Hydrochloric acid (HClHCl) is an acid and sodium hydroxide (NaOHNaOH) is a base, reacting in a classic neutralization reaction.
An acid and a base neutralize each other to produce a salt (NaClNaCl) and water.
2
Apply the law of conservation of mass to balance the atoms.
The reactants contain 2 hydrogen (HH) atoms, 1 chlorine (ClCl) atom, 1 sodium (NaNa) atom, and 1 oxygen (OO) atom. Subtracting the sodium and chlorine in NaClNaCl leaves 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom, which combine to form H2OH_2O.
Atoms cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; all reactant atoms must appear in the products.

Key Concept

Acid-Base Neutralization and Law of Conservation of Mass
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Chemical Reactions and Compounds

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