What is the net ionic reaction for the acid-base reaction of #"HCl"# with #"NaNO"_3#?

Question

Ellie Andrews · Accepted Answer

There is no acid-base reaction.

It takes two to tango: an acid-base reaction needs both an acid and a base. #"HCl"# is fine for an acid, but #"NaNO"_3# isn't a base (at least under ordinary conditions). So, no reaction.

Noah Aldrich · Answer

This reaction doesn't actually happen since sodium is more active in the activity series than hydrogen.

The response would have been:

#color(blue)("HCl" + "NaNO"_3 rightleftharpoons "NaCl" + "HNO"_3)#

Using a "pseudo-ionic equation" to break this down, we would have obtained:

#stackrel("Bronsted acid")overbrace("HCl") + stackrel("Bronsted Base")overbrace("NO"_3^(-)) rightleftharpoons stackrel("Conjugate base")overbrace("Cl"^(-)) + stackrel("Conjugate acid")overbrace("HNO"_3)#

with #"Na"^(+)# as one of the "spectator" counterions.

The pKa of #"HCl"# is about #-7#, but the pKa of #"HNO"_3# is about #-1.3#. This says that #"HCl"# is a stronger acid than #"HNO"_3#, and thus the equilibrium would have lied on the side of #"HNO"_3#, the weaker acid.

When fully broken down, it would yield:

#color(red)(cancel("Cl"^(-) + "NO"_3^(-)) rightleftharpoons cancel("Cl"^(-) + "NO"_3^(-)))#

in which nothing really happened, and #"H"^(+)# is the other "spectator" counterion.

This reaction doesn't actually happen since sodium is more active in the activity series than hydrogen.

Cameron Andrews · Answer

undefined The net ionic reaction for the acid-base reaction of HCl with NaNO3 is:

H+ (aq) + NO3- (aq) → HNO3 (aq)