Question

Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, can be neutralized by sodium hydroxide, NaOH. The unbalanced equation is: H2SO4(aq) + NaOH(aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + H2O(l) A student who was asked to balance the reaction wrote the following: H2SO4(aq) + Na2OH(aq) →Na2SO4(aq) + H3O(l) Is this correct? Explain why or why not using what you know about the law of conservation of mass and chemical changes. If necessary, provide the correct balanced equation?​

Answer 1

Answer: Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, can be neutralized by sodium hydroxide, NaOH. The unbalanced equation is:
H2SO4(aq) + NaOH(aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + H2O(l)
A student who was asked to balance the reaction wrote the following:
H2SO4(aq) + Na2OH(aq) →Na2SO4(aq) + H3O(l)
Is this correct? Explain why or why not using what you know about the law of conservation of mass and chemical changes. If necessary, provide the correct balanced equation.
Explanation: The mass of the reactants must equal that of the products. This is because the masses of the products arise from the reactants and no mass is either created or destroyed. The total mass of the reactant must equal that of the product side and vice versa.
The student made an error of protonating the water molecule to H3O+ without a corresponding balance on the reactant side. In this case, it is wrong and ceases to be an equation. The product side masses don't equal the reactant side.
Balancing a chemical equation is done by first writing the correct chemical symbol. The moles and masses of each compound are cross-checked that they are equal on both sides of the equation.