Answer:
The products are NaCl and H₂O
Step-by-step explanation:
The complete question is:
"Hydrochloric acid, or HCl, reacts with solid NaOH. What are the products of this chemical reaction?
HCl and NaCl
NaCl and H2O
NaOH and HCl
NaOH and H2O"
Neutralization reactions are the reactions between an acid and a base, producing salt and water. It is the type of reaction that happens in this case.
An acid and a base are strong when fully ionized, that is, in the ionization process they completely transform into positive cations or ions and negative anions or ions. So, a strong acid is an acid that completely dissociates into hydrogen ions and anions in solution.
In this case, both the HCl acid and the NaOH base are strong, completely dissociating as follows:
HCl → H⁺ + Cl⁻
NaOH → Na⁺ + OH⁻
So you have:
H⁺ + Cl⁻ + Na⁺ + OH⁻ → ?
The hydroxide anions and the hydrogen cations will neutralize each other to produce water.
H⁺ + OH⁻ → H₂O
So the sodium Na anions and Cl cations will form the NaCl salt.
Finally, the balanced chemical equation is
HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H₂O