Predict the products of the reaction below. That is, complete the right-hand side of the chemical equation. Be sure your equation is balanced.

HCl+Ba(OH)_2->

1 answer

To predict the products of the reaction between hydrochloric acid (HCl) and barium hydroxide (Ba(OH)_2), we first need to recognize that this is a neutralization reaction between an acid and a base. In such a reaction, an acid reacts with a base to produce a salt and water.

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between HCl and Ba(OH)_2 is:

\[ \text{2 HCl} + \text{Ba(OH)}_2 \rightarrow \text{BaCl}_2 + \text{2 H}_2\text{O} \]

Here's the step-by-step reasoning:

1. **Reactants:** HCl (hydrochloric acid) and Ba(OH)_2 (barium hydroxide).
2. **Products:** The neutralization reaction will produce a salt (barium chloride, BaCl_2) and water (H_2O).

To balance the equation:

- **HCl** provides Cl^- ions and H^+ ions.
- **Ba(OH)_2** provides Ba^2+ ions and OH^- ions.

Each formula unit of Ba(OH)_2 has two OH^- ions, meaning we'll need two HCl molecules to neutralize a single Ba(OH)_2 molecule.

So:
\[ 2 \text{HCl} + \text{Ba(OH)}_2 \rightarrow \text{BaCl}_2 + 2 \text{H}_2\text{O} \]

This balanced equation shows:
- 2 HCl molecules react with 1 Ba(OH)_2 unit.
- Producing 1 BaCl_2 molecule and 2 molecules of H_2O.

Thus, the products of the reaction are barium chloride (BaCl_2) and water (H_2O).