Question

Addition of water to acid is a highly exothermic reaction ... So it the same with the HCL of stomach?.....then what happens to the heat produced?

Answer 1

Acid and water mixture formation is a exothermic reaction.it release high energy in the case of concentrated acids.But the acid in the body is very dilute.so, there won't be that much energy release.

For some additional knowledge,; if water is added to concentrated acid release high energy and sometimes acid even go out.This is due to the large energy relaesr during the hydration reaction of acid ions.

But,when we add acid into water(instead of water into acid) slowly,the energy release will be absorbed by the water molecules which are present more than acid.

So, in the case of stomach the HCl is added slowly into the water or food items.