Neutralisation and Salt Preparation

This lesson covers neutralisation reactions and the preparation of soluble salts, as required by the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (4.4.2). You need to understand the process of neutralisation, know how to prepare pure, dry salt crystals from an acid and an insoluble base, and write balanced equations for neutralisation reactions. This is a core practical topic that connects theory with hands-on laboratory skills.

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What Is Neutralisation?

Neutralisation is the reaction between an acid and a base (or alkali) to produce a salt and water. During neutralisation, the pH of the solution moves towards 7 (neutral).

General Equations

Reaction type	General word equation
Acid + alkali	salt + water
Acid + metal oxide	salt + water
Acid + metal hydroxide	salt + water
Acid + metal carbonate	salt + water + carbon dioxide

The Ionic Equation

For any neutralisation reaction between an acid and an alkali, the essential process is:

H+(aq) + OH-(aq) → H2O(l)