Question

A strong acid, such as hydrochloric acid cannot be poured down a sink because it will react and dissolve the metal in the pipes. Yet a strong base, commonly found in drain cleaner, can be poured down a sink. A strong acid can be neutralized with a strong base, creating a salty water solution. What will happen when 10.0 g of hydrochloric acid were mixed with 10.5 grams of calcium hydroxide?

Answer 1

Answer:

15.2 grams of calcium chloride are produced and HCl is the limiting reactant.

Explanation:

Hello there!

In this case, according to the described scenario, it is possible to realize that the reaction between hydrochloric acid and calcium hydroxide is:

$2HCl+Ca(OH)_2\rightarrow CaCl_2+2H_2O$

Whereas there is a 2:1 mole ratio of the acid to the base. In such a way, with the given masses, we can compute how much calcium chloride product is produced due to the chemical reaction via stoichiometry:

$m_{CaCl_2}^{by HCl}=10.0gHCl*\frac{1molHCl}{36.46gHCl}*\frac{1molCaCl_2}{2molHCl} *\frac{110.98gCaCl_2}{1molCaCl_2} =15.2gCaCl_2\\\\m_{CaCl_2}^{by Ca(OH)_2}=10.5gHCl*\frac{1molCa(OH)_2}{74.09gCa(OH)_2}*\frac{1molCaCl_2}{1molCa(OH)_2} *\frac{110.98gCaCl_2}{1molCaCl_2} =15.7gCaCl_2$

Whereas we infer that the correct amount is 15.2 g since HCl is the limiting reactant as it produces the fewest grams of the desired product. Consequently, the calcium hydroxide is the excess reactant here.

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