Double Replacement Rxn - Neutralization Rxn

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As you know, one of three products (form a solid, water or gas) must be produced in a double chemical reaction for the reaction to occur. Here, we will explain formation of one of these products: the formation of water.

As with all double replacement reaction, you have two reactants that are aqueous (compounds that break-up into their ions in water). In other words, you have a bucket of ions before the reaction occurs. The task is to rearrange the ions into new compounds (cpds) knowing that like charged ions can't create cpds.

Even though water (H₂O) is a molecular cpd, we often think of it as made up of two ions, hydronium ion (H⁺¹) and hydroxide ion (OH^-1). Therefore, one of our reactants must contain the hydroxide ion (OH^-1) and one must contain the hydronium ion (H⁺¹). If you place these two reactants into a bucket, you product water ((H₂O). See example below.

These types of reaction are very common place to the point that we give the reactants and chemical reaction special names:

Acid - a compound that breaks up into ions in water where one of the ions is hydronium ion (H⁺¹).
Base - a cpompound that breaks up into ions in water where one of the ions is the hydroxide ion (OH^-1).
Neutralization Rxn - a double replacement reaction that produces water (H₂O) as one of its products. The two reactants are an acid & a base.