Sure, let's go through the step-by-step process of writing the balanced chemical equation for the neutralization reaction between hydrobromic acid (HBr) and lithium hydroxide (LiOH).
1. Identify the reactants and products:
- The reactants are:
- Hydrobromic acid (HBr) in aqueous solution.
- Lithium hydroxide (LiOH) in aqueous solution.
- The products of a neutralization reaction (acid + base) are:
- Water (H₂O).
- A salt, which in this case is lithium bromide (LiBr) in aqueous solution.
2. Write the unbalanced chemical equation:
[tex]\[
\text{HBr(aq) + LiOH(aq)}
\][/tex]
3. Predict the products based on the reactants:
- The hydrogen ion (H⁺) from the acid (HBr) will combine with the hydroxide ion (OH⁻) from the base (LiOH) to form water (H₂O).
- The remaining ions, lithium (Li⁺) from LiOH and bromide (Br⁻) from HBr, will combine to form lithium bromide (LiBr).
4. Combine the ions to form the products:
[tex]\[
\text{LiBr(aq) + H₂O(l)}
\][/tex]
5. Balance the chemical equation:
- Check that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
- In this case, the equation is already balanced, with 1 hydrogen (H), 1 bromine (Br), 1 lithium (Li), and 1 oxygen (O) on both sides.
6. Indicate the physical states of the reactants and products:
- HBr is an aqueous solution: HBr(aq).
- LiOH is an aqueous solution: LiOH(aq).
- LiBr (lithium bromide) will be in aqueous solution: LiBr(aq).
- Water (H₂O) is a liquid: H₂O(l).
Therefore, the balanced chemical equation for the neutralization reaction is:
[tex]\[ \text{HBr(aq) + LiOH(aq) -> LiBr(aq) + H₂O(l)} \][/tex]
