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.

The correct balanced equation :

H₂SO₄(aq) + 2 NaOH(aq) ⇒ Na₂SO₄(aq) + 2 H₂O(l)

Conservation of mass applies to a closed system, where the masses before and after the reaction are the same, so balanced chemical equations show that mass is conserved in chemical reactions.

A student wrote the reaction :

H₂SO₄(aq) + Na₂OH(aq) →Na₂SO₄(aq) + H₃O(l)

This reaction is wrong because students make changes to the subscript in chemical compounds (chemical compounds have a fixed mass ratio) while in balancing chemical reactions, what is changed is the reaction coefficient (both products and reactants)

The correct balanced equation.

H₂SO₄(aq) + 2 NaOH(aq) ⇒ Na₂SO₄(aq) + 2 H₂O(l)

This reaction is said to be balanced because the amount of each type of element in the products and reactants is the same

For example :

H, left=2(in H₂SO₄)+2(in 2NaOH)=4, right=2x2(in 2H₂O) =4

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