Question

Consider the neutralization reaction that occurs upon the reaction of aqueous potassium hydroxide with aqueous hydrochloric acid.


Write a complete ionic equation for this neutralization reaction.

Write a net ionic equation for this neutralization reaction. Identify all of the phases in your answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

Potassium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) react with formation of sodium chloride (NaCl) and water (H₂O). NaOH, HCl and NaCl are strong electrolytes, therefore these compounds break into ions in water. These ions must be noted with (aq) when writing a complete ionic equation:

Na⁺(aq) + OH^-(aq) + H⁺(aq) + Cl^-(aq) $\rightarrow$ Na⁺(aq) + Cl^-(aq) + H₂O(l).

As you can see, sodium and chloride ions don't take part in the reaction. They are called spectator ions and must be crossed out when writing a net ionic equation:

H⁺(aq) + OH^-(aq) $\rightarrow$ H₂O(l).