Answer:
3 NaOH + H₃PO₄ -----> Na₃PO₄ + 3 H₂O
Explanation:
This appears to be a double-displacement reaction. In these reactions, the cation of one compound is swapped with the cation of another. Therefore, Na⁺ (from NaOH) is swapped with H⁺ (from H₃PO₄). When constructing the new compounds, you may need to alter the amount of each ion within a particular compound to to make it neutral.
New Product #1: Na₃PO₄
----------> Na⁺ and PO₄³⁻
----------> +1 + 1 + 1 + (-3) = 0
New Product #2: H₂O (or HOH)
----------> H⁺ and OH⁻
----------> +1 + (-1) = 0
Now that you know the products, you need to balance the chemical equation. An equation is balanced when there is an equal amount of each element on both sides. These amounts can be modified by adding coefficients.
The unbalanced equation:
NaOH + H₃PO₄ -----> Na₃PO₄ + H₂O
<u>Reactants</u>: 1 sodium, 5 oxygen, 4 hydrogen, 1 phosphorus
<u>Products</u>: 3 sodium, 5 oxygen, 2 hydrogen, 1 phosphorus
The balanced equation:
3 NaOH + H₃PO₄ -----> Na₃PO₄ + 3 H₂O
<u>Reactants</u>: 3 sodium, 7 oxygen, 6 hydrogen, 1 phosphorus
<u>Products</u>: 3 sodium, 7 oxygen, 6 hydrogen, 1 phosphorus
**I was having trouble balancing the equation with the reactant H₂PO₄⁻. From my experience, I believe this compound may have been mistyped. As such, I used H₃PO₄. Please let me know if the reactant was written properly**
