In the following balanced neutralization reaction equation, how many moles of hcl are required to completely neutralize 0.040 moles of naoh?
hcl + naoh → nacl + h2o
0.020 moles
0.080 moles
0.040 moles
1.0 mole

The balanced chemical reaction is:

HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O

We are given the amount of sodium hydroxide to be used for the reaction. This will be the starting point of our calculations.

0.040 mol NaOH (1 mol HCl / 1 mol NaOH) = 0.040 mol of HCl

Therefore, the correct answer is the third option, 0.040 moles.