Clarification on the example given during lecture (2)

[Ernie Lee 3F]

I was wondering how Professor Lavelle knew that the reaction of HCl + NaOH -> H20 + NaCl was exothermic. Indeed, he said there was bond formation, notably to form water, but would there not also be ionic bond breaking in order to separate H from Cl and Na from OH?

[Jasmine Winter 1A]

Neutralization reactions are generally exothermic. Because NaOH plus HCl, a strong acid and strong base, produce a salt and water, this reaction creates a neutral product.