Question

aqueous sulfuric acid is mixed with aqueous sodium hydroxide to form water and sodium sulfate. choose the best option below that represents this balanced equation, including phases.
○ h₂so₄(aq) + naoh(aq) → 2 h₂o(l) + naso₄(aq)
○ h₂so₄(aq) + 2 naoh(aq) → 2 h₂o(l) + na₂so₄(aq)
○ h₂so₄(aq) + nah(aq) → h₂o(l) + naso₄(aq)
○ h₂so₄(aq) + naoh(aq) → h₂o(l) + na₂so₄(aq)

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the chemical reaction

Sulfuric acid (\(H_2SO_4\)) reacts with sodium hydroxide (\(NaOH\)) to form water (\(H_2O\)) and sodium sulfate (\(Na_2SO_4\)). The general form of the reaction is \(H_2SO_4 + NaOH
ightarrow H_2O+Na_2SO_4\).

Step2: Balance the equation

• For sodium (\(Na\)): There are \(2\) \(Na\) atoms in \(Na_2SO_4\). So, we need \(2\) \(NaOH\) molecules.
• For hydrogen (\(H\)): On the left - hand side, we have \(2\) \(H\) from \(H_2SO_4\) and \(2\) \(H\) from \(2NaOH\) (total \(4\) \(H\)). On the right - hand side, in \(H_2O\), if we have \(2\) \(H_2O\) molecules, we get \(4\) \(H\) atoms.
• For sulfate (\(SO_4\)): There is \(1\) \(SO_4\) group on both sides.

The balanced equation is \(H_2SO_4(aq)+2NaOH(aq)
ightarrow 2H_2O(l)+Na_2SO_4(aq)\)

Answer:

\(H_2SO_4(aq)+2NaOH(aq)
ightarrow 2H_2O(l)+Na_2SO_4(aq)\) (the fourth option)