How do you balance the following reaction: ?KOH+?H3PO4?K3PO4+?H2O?

1 Answer
Jan 21, 2017

Garbage in must equal garbage out........

Explanation:

H3PO4(aq)+3KOH(aq)K3PO4(aq)+3H2O(l)

This reaction is a bit of an idealization, inasmuch as phosphoric acid behaves as a diprotic acid in water.

A more realistic interpretation would be,

H3PO4(aq)+2KOH(aq)K2HPO4(aq)+2H2O(l)

In both cases, are mass and charge conserved? If they are not, then you know that the reaction does not reflect reality.