An aqueous solution is prepared by mixing 0.100 mol of H2SO4(aq) with exactly twice that amount of NaOH(aq). The neutralization reaction is represented by the balanced equation
H2SO4(aq)+2NaOH(aq)→Na2SO4(aq)+2H2O(l)
Assume that all species remain uniformly dispersed in a sufficiently large volume of water and that water molecules are omitted from the particulate drawing unless explicitly requested.
a. Part 1: (a) Determine the number of formula units or discrete ions of each species that must appear in a particulate-level snapshot representing TWO complete reaction cycles (i.e., twice the coefficients in the balanced equation). List spectator ions separately from species that undergo chemical change.
b. Part 2: (b) Draw and label a particulate-level diagram that depicts the system immediately after the reaction has gone to completion. Represent Na+ as small orange spheres, SO42− as a tetrahedral cluster of four red O atoms around one yellow S atom, and omit the bulk water. Clearly reflect the quantities calculated in part (a).
c. Part 3: (c) Explain how your diagram illustrates the role of spectator ions in this reaction and why water molecules may be legitimately omitted from the aqueous representation in parts (a) and (b).