When HCl is dissolved in qater, it can conduct electricity. Write chemical equation for the for the reaction that takes places when NaOH is added in the solution.?

1 Answer
Jun 18, 2018

#HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) -> H_2O(l) + NaCl(aq)#

Explanation:

This would be a neutralisation reaction.
Neutralisation reactions, involving a strong acid and a strong base, typically produce water and a salt.

This is also true in our case!

#HCl# and #NaOH# are strong acids and bases respectively, so when they are placed into an aqueous solution, they basically completely dissociate into their constituent ions: #H^+# and #Cl^-# from #HCl#, and #Na^+# and #OH^_# from #NaOH#.

As this occurs, the #H^+# from #HCl# and the #OH^-# from #NaOH# would come together to produce #H_2O#.

So, our chemical reaction would be:

#HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) -> H_2O(l) + Na^(+)(aq) + Cl^(-)(aq)#

Which is effectively the same thing as:

#HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) -> H_2O(l) + NaCl(aq)#