Question

The reaction of an acid with a hydroxide base gives what two products? What is the most common mistake made in writing an equation for such a reaction?

Short answer

The reaction of an acid with a hydroxide base produces water and a salt. A common mistake is not balancing the reaction equation correctly.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the Reaction Type

The reaction given is between an acid and a hydroxide base. This type of reaction is called a neutralization reaction.

Determine the Products

In a neutralization reaction, an acid reacts with a base to produce two main products: water ( H_2O ) and a salt. The specific salt depends on the reactants used.

Write a General Equation

The general equation for the reaction of an acid (HA) with a hydroxide base (BOH) can be written as: \[ HA + BOH \rightarrow H_2O + BA \] where BA is the salt.

Common Mistake

The most common mistake in writing equations for these reactions is failing to properly balance the equation. Each side must have an equal number of each type of atom, especially hydrogen and oxygen from water.

Key concepts

Acid-Base Reaction

When an acid reacts with a base, we call this an acid-base reaction. It’s also known as a neutralization reaction because the acid and base neutralize each other’s properties. Acids are substances that can donate a proton (H⁺ ion), and bases are substances that can accept a proton. The general concept is fairly simple:

• Acids usually taste sour and can be found in items like lemon juice.
• Bases, on the other hand, often taste bitter and can feel slippery, like soap.

When these two types of chemicals meet, they neutralize each other. The acid loses its acidic properties, and the base loses its basic properties. This type of reaction is very common in both laboratory settings and in everyday life.

Chemical Equation

A chemical equation is a shorthand way of expressing what happens during a chemical reaction. For the acid-base reaction, a common example involves reacting hydrochloric acid (HCl) with sodium hydroxide (NaOH).The chemical equation for this looks like:\[ \text{HCl} + \text{NaOH} \rightarrow \text{H}_2\text{O} + \text{NaCl} \]This equation shows us several things:

• The reactants are on the left side: HCl and NaOH.
• The arrow (→) shows the direction of the reaction.
• The products on the right side are water (H₂O) and salt (NaCl).

Chemical equations are important because they tell us what substances are involved and what products are formed.

Reaction Balancing

Balancing a chemical equation is crucial because it ensures that the same number of each type of atom appears on both sides of the equation. Atoms can't just disappear or suddenly appear out of nowhere; they have to be accounted for throughout the reaction. So, consider our earlier example with HCl and NaOH: Let's break it down:

• We have 1 chlorine atom on both sides.
• 1 sodium atom on both sides.
• 2 hydrogen atoms on the left (one from HCl and one from NaOH) balance with 2 hydrogen atoms in water (H₂O) on the right.
• Finally, 1 oxygen atom from NaOH balances with 1 oxygen atom in water.

If chemical equations aren't balanced, it misrepresents what actually happens during the reaction, which can cause confusion and errors in experiments and calculations.

Products of Neutralization

The products of a neutralization reaction between an acid and a base are typically water and a salt. Understanding these products helps us predict the outcome of a reaction and is essential in multiple fields of science and industry. Here’s a bit more about them:

• Water (H₂O) is always one of the products. It is formed when the hydrogen ions (H⁺) from the acid combine with hydroxide ions (OH⁻) from the base.
• Salt is the other product. This is a broad term for any ionic compound that can result. Its exact composition depends on the specific acid and base used. For example, when hydrochloric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide, the salt formed is sodium chloride (NaCl), which is table salt.

These components show up in many everyday reactions, like when baking soda (a base) neutralizes vinegar (an acid), releasing gas and creating a fizzy solution.