How many moles of phosphoric acid are needed to neutralize 5.0 moles of sodium hydroxide?

1 answer

The balanced chemical equation for the neutralization reaction between phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is:

H3PO4 + 3NaOH --> Na3PO4 + 3H2O

This equation shows that 1 mole of phosphoric acid reacts with 3 moles of sodium hydroxide.

If we have 5.0 moles of sodium hydroxide, we would need 5.0/3 = 1.67 moles of phosphoric acid to completely neutralize it.

Therefore, 1.67 moles of phosphoric acid are needed to neutralize 5.0 moles of sodium hydroxide.