It takes 40 mL of 0.10 M of hydrochloric acid (HCl) to neutralize 50 mL of sodium hydroxide (NaOH)

for the following chemical reaction:
HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H O
The concentration of sodium hydroxide is _____.
(1 point)
2
0.08 M
0.125 M
0.10 M
0.04 M

1 answer

To find the concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), we first need to calculate the amount of moles of hydrochloric acid (HCl) used in the reaction.

  1. Calculate the moles of HCl: \[ \text{Moles of HCl} = \text{Concentration} \times \text{Volume} \] \[ \text{Moles of HCl} = 0.10 , \text{M} \times 0.040 , \text{L} = 0.004 , \text{moles} \]

  2. Use the stoichiometry of the reaction: The balanced chemical equation is: \[ \text{HCl} + \text{NaOH} \rightarrow \text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{O} \] From the balanced equation, we see that the mole ratio of HCl to NaOH is 1:1. Therefore, the moles of NaOH will also be 0.004 moles.

  3. Calculate the concentration of NaOH: We know the volume of NaOH is 50 mL, which is 0.050 L. Now we can calculate the concentration: \[ \text{Concentration of NaOH} = \frac{\text{Moles of NaOH}}{\text{Volume of NaOH}} = \frac{0.004 , \text{moles}}{0.050 , \text{L}} = 0.08 , \text{M} \]

So, the concentration of sodium hydroxide is 0.08 M.