Question

How would you complete and balance the acid base neutralizations reaction: `HI + KOH ->`?

Answer 1

`"Acid + base "rarr" salt and water"`

Explanation:

And thus:

`HI(aq) + KOH(aq) rarr KI(aq) + H_2O(l)`

Because the potassium and iodide salts are along for the ride, we could write the net ionic equation as:

`H^+ + HO^(-) rarr H_2O(l)`

OR

`H_3O^+ + HO^(-) rarr 2H_2O(l)`

Are `"mass"` and `"charge"` balanced in each instance? If they are not, you know that it cannot be accepted as a representation of chemical (i.e. physical) reality.