Acid-Base

Neutralization
Reactions
Acid + Base  Salt + Water

• Orange juice + milk  bad taste

• Evergreen shrub + concrete  dead bush
• Under a pine tree + fertilizer  white powder

• HCl + NaOH  NaCl + HOH

salt water
 Acid-Base Neutralization
Reactions

HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq)  NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

• The products of an acid-base neutralization

reaction are a salt made up of the positive
ion of the base (Na+) and the negative ion
(Cl-) of the acid, and water.
• Remember, in writing the correct formula
for the salt, the total positive charge of
the ions in the salt must equal the total
negative charge of the ions in the salt.

• Make sure you write the correct formula

for the products, salt and water first, then
balancing the equation.
SHOWING the complete equation (CE),
•the particles present in the acid HCl(aq) solution due to
ionization are

HCl(g) + H2O(l)  H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

Or

HCl(g)  H+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

•the particles present in the base NaOH(aq) solution due to

dissociation are

NaOH(aq)  Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)

• Therefore, the ionic equation (IE) for
the reaction is

H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq) 

Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + 2H2O(l)

Or

H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq) 

Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + H2O(l)
• If we remove the spectator ions , Na +
(aq)
and Cl-(aq), we are left with the net ionic
equation (NIE) for the acid-base
neutralization reaction:

H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)  2H2O(l)

Or

H+(aq) + OH-(aq)  H2O(l)

• Therefore, in an acid-base neutralization
reaction we can see that it is the
hydronium ion from the acid that reacts
with the hydroxide ion from the base to
produce neutral water.

• Since the hydronium ion gives the acid its

properties and the hydroxide ion gives the
base its properties, the acid-base reaction
has resulted in the neutralization of the
properties of both the acid and the base.
 SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
For the acid-base neutralization of nitric
acid, HNO3(aq) and calcium hydroxide
Ca(OH)2(aq), write the balanced:
a) complete equation (CE)
b) ionic equation (IE)
c) net ionic equation (NIE)
a) The complete balanced equation
(CBI)for the reaction is

Ca(OH)2(aq) + 2HNO3(aq)  Ca(NO3)2(aq) + 2H2O(l)

b) The ionic equation (IE) is

Ca2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2NO3-(aq) 

Ca2+ (aq) + 2NO3-(aq) + 2H2O(l)

c) The net ionic equation (NIE) is

2OH-(aq) + 2H+(aq)  2H2O(l)