What do carboxylic acids produce when they react with metal hydroxides?

When carboxylic acids react with metal hydroxides, they undergo a neutralization reaction. In this process, the acidic protons from the carboxylic acid react with the hydroxide ions from the metal hydroxide. As a result, the products formed are a salt and water.

The reaction can be summarized as follows: the carboxylic acid donates a proton (H⁺) to the hydroxide ion (OH⁻) from the metal hydroxide, leading to the formation of water (H₂O). The remaining species from the acid and the metal hydroxide combine to form the corresponding salt. This is characteristic of acid-base reactions where an acid and a base interact to form a new salt and water, a fundamental concept in chemistry.

In this context, other options do not accurately represent the products formed in this specific reaction. For instance, producing carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide is not typical in this neutralization reaction between carboxylic acids and metal hydroxides. Thus, the formation of salt and water is the correct and expected outcome of such a reaction.