When your stomach feels uneasy after eating spicy food, what do you do? Many people take an antacid tablet. But did you know that when you do that, you’re actually performing a neutralization reaction inside your body?

Neutralization reactions have practical applications in daily life. From treating acidic soil on farms to making sure the water coming out of factories is safe for the environment.

In this activity, you’ll use two common laboratory chemicals – hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) – to see how neutralization works. By measuring how much base is needed to completely neutralize the acid, you’ll also practice an important chemistry technique called titration.