Question

Describe the process of neutralization with the help of an example.

Answer 1

Step 1: Definition of neutralization reaction:

• Neutralization reaction refers to the chemical reaction that occurs when any acid is allowed to react with a base to form salt and water (${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$).
• In these reactions, the Hydrogen ion (${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$) donated by the acid and the Hydroxide ion (${\mathrm{OH}}^{-}$) released by the base react with each other to yield Water. Similarly, the positively charged species left in the base and the negatively charged species of the acid combine with each other resulting in the generation of a neutral salt.

Step 2: Example of neutralization reaction:

• Sulfuric acid (${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4$) is an acid. It is composed of two Hydrogen ions (${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$) and one sulfate ion (${\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$).
• Calcium hydroxide ($\mathrm{Ca}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}_2$) is a base. It consists of one Calcium ion (${\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}$) and two Hydroxide ions (${\mathrm{OH}}^{-}$).
• The ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ ion reacts with ${\mathrm{OH}}^{-}$ ions to yield ${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$. Similarly, ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}$ ion combines with ${\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$ ion to form a salt, Calcium sulfate (${\mathrm{CaSO}}_4$).
• Hence, the chemical reaction between Sulfuric acid and Calcium hydroxide is represented as:

$$\begin{gathered} {\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+\mathrm{Ca}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}_2\left(\mathrm{s}\right)\to {\mathrm{CaSO}}_4\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right) \\ \mathrm{Sulfuric}\mathrm{Calcium}\mathrm{Calcium} \\ \mathrm{acid}\mathrm{hydroxide}\mathrm{sulfate} \end{gathered}$$