groundbreakers | 10 facts on ... by Philip McIntosh
SALTS
There are acids and there are bases . And then , of course , there are salts .
Let ’ s talk about salts this time .
SALT IS SIMPLY an ionic combination between a metal and a nonmetal .
SODIUM CHLORIDE ( NaCl ), good old table salt , is one example .
SALTS ARE LINKED to acids and bases through neutralization reactions . When a strong acid and a strong base react , water and a salt are formed .
THE SOLUBILITY OF a salt is an important property . Solubility tells us how much of a substance can be dissolved in a given volume of liquid .
A BINARY SALT such as NaCl or potassium chloride ( KCl ) consists of only two elements : a single positive ion ( Na +, K +) and a single negative ion ( Cl- ). Other examples of binary salts are aluminum fluoride ( AlF 3 ), lithium chloride ( LiCl ), and potassium iodide ( KI ).
OTHER SALTS CONSIST of one or more cations and a polyatomic anion . Examples are potassium sulfate ( K 2SO 4 ), ammonium nitrate ( NH 4NO 3 ), and magnesium phosphate ( Mg ( H 2PO 4 ) 2 ).
IF A SALT SOLUTION is saturated , no more of the solid compound will dissolve . As a result , a precipitate of undissolved material forms .
MANY SALTS ARE highly soluble in water , making them good sources of nutrient elements that plants can use .
NOT ALL SALTS are water soluble , though . Silver chloride , barium sulfate , as well as many carbonates , are considered insoluble .
THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
of water change when salts are dissolved in it . These so-called colligative properties include the shifting of freezing and boiling points .
170 Maximum Yield USA | February 2017