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What is the net ionic equation for neutralizing any strong acid with an ionic hydroxide?
AH3O+ and OH- give 2H2O
BH2O and OH- give H3O+
CH3O+ and H2O give 2OH-
DOH- and OH- give H2O and O2
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. H3O+ and OH- give 2H2O
1. A strong acid in water is present as hydronium ions plus its anion.
2. An ionic hydroxide in water is present as its cation plus hydroxide ions.
3. The acid anion and the metal cation pass through unchanged, so both are spectator ions.
4. Removing them leaves only hydronium reacting with hydroxide.
5. Each H3O+ gives up one H+ to an OH-, and the two together yield 2 H2O.
6. So the net ionic equation is H3O+ plus OH- giving 2H2O.
7. The reverse forms in the other options would need water to split apart, which is not what happens here.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Stoichiometry of Chemical Reactions", section 4.2 Classifying Chemical Reactions_
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