Is hydrochloric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide to produce a salt water and heat a physical change?

Answer:No the change that occurs is not a physical change but a chemical change.

Explanation:

By definition of a physical change it is a change that does not alter's the chemical composition of a mixture or a substance, while as in a chemical change the compound that is formed by mixing 2 substances has a composition that is different from the initial compounds that were mixed to obtain the compound.

While as when we mix hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide a new compound known as sodium chloride is formed with a chemical composition that is different from either hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide thus the change that occurs upon mixing is a chemical change and not a physical change.