Final answer:
Neutralization is a reaction where an acid and base form water and a salt, such as when hydrochloric acid (HCl) reacts with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to produce potassium chloride (KCl) and water (H2O).
Step-by-step explanation:
The neutralization process is a chemical reaction where an acid and a base react to form water and a salt. An example using hydrochloric acid (HCl) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) is expressed as follows:
HCl(aq) + KOH(aq) → KCl(aq) + H₂O(l)
In this reaction, HCl is a strong acid and KOH is a strong base. They react in a 1:1 mole ratio to produce potassium chloride (KCl), the salt, and water (H₂O). This equation can be represented in ionic form as:
H+(aq) + Cl⁻(aq) + K+(aq) + OH⁻(aq) → K+(aq) + Cl⁻(aq) + H₂O(l)
After cancelling the spectator ions (ions that do not participate in the reaction), the net ionic equation is:
H+(aq) + OH⁻(aq) → H₂O(l)
This demonstrates the essence of neutralization, where the hydrogen ion (H+) from the acid combines with the hydroxide ion (OH⁻) from the base to form water, with the remaining ions forming the salt.