What is the salt produced when sulfuric acid neutralizes barium hydroxide in aqueous solution?

What is the salt produced when sulfuric acid neutralizes barium hydroxide in aqueous solution?

• A. BaS
• B. BaSO2
• C. BaSO3
• D. BaSO4

Answer: (D)

Neutralization between an acid and a base creates a salt and water, and here the salt comes from combining the cation Ba2+ with the anion SO4^2− from sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is diprotic, so it provides sulfate, while barium hydroxide supplies Ba2+ and OH−. The two hydroxide equivalents neutralize the two acidic protons, forming water, and Ba2+ pairs with SO4^2− to give BaSO4. BaSO4 is extremely insoluble in water, so it precipitates as a solid, which is why you’d see a white solid form during the reaction. The balanced reaction is H2SO4 + Ba(OH)2 → BaSO4(s) + 2 H2O. Therefore, the salt produced is BaSO4.

Neutralization between an acid and a base creates a salt and water, and here the salt comes from combining the cation Ba2+ with the anion SO4^2− from sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is diprotic, so it provides sulfate, while barium hydroxide supplies Ba2+ and OH−. The two hydroxide equivalents neutralize the two acidic protons, forming water, and Ba2+ pairs with SO4^2− to give BaSO4. BaSO4 is extremely insoluble in water, so it precipitates as a solid, which is why you’d see a white solid form during the reaction. The balanced reaction is H2SO4 + Ba(OH)2 → BaSO4(s) + 2 H2O. Therefore, the salt produced is BaSO4.