Question

What is the complete ionic equation for the reaction of hydrochloric acid with potassium hydroxide?

Answer 1

`H^+ + Cl^- + K^+ + OH^- = K^+ Cl^- + H_2O`

Explanation:

Hydrochloric acid is HCl. This is an ionic substance so in water it breaks apart into ions `H^+ + Cl_-`

Potassium Hydroxide is also an ionic substance it also breaks apart in water into ions `K^+ + OH^-`

So the complete ionic equation for the reaction is

`H^+ + Cl^- + K^+ + OH^- = K^+ + Cl^- + H_2O`

The Hydrogen ion and the Hydroxide ions combine to form water.

The net ionic equation is

`H^+ + OH^- = H_2O`

This is because the `Cl^- + K^+` ions do not undergo any changes therefore are not part of the net ionic equation.