1

Unit 5.3
What is a salt?

Dr Cherry
(MD, PhD)
 2
What is a salt?
• A salt is produced when an acid reacts with a
base/alkali.
• A salt consists of two parts. One part comes
from the base, the other from the acid.
• Eg. sodium chloride (NaCl) produced from
base named sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and
hydrochloric acid (HCl).
sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid sodium chloride + water
NaCl + H2O
NaOH + HCl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnAKhtnJjz0
 3

Classification of Salts
✓ The salts can be classified based on acids used.
 4
Different types of salts
Calcium sulfate (CaSO4) is a
salt used to make chalk.

MgCO3

Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3)

is used as a fertiliser to help
crops grow well.
 5
Different types of salts
Aluminium sulfate
Al2(SO4)3 is added to
dyes to help them to
stick to fibres. (used as a
mordant)
Common name = Alum
 6
Different types of salts
Sodium chloride (NaCl) is used to
preserve food and as table salt to
flavour food.

Copper sulfate
(CuSO4) is used to stop
fungi growing.
 7
Acids and Salts
➢ Carbonic acid is weak acid that is
formed when carbon dioxide reacts
with water. Salts made from
carbonic acid are called carbonates.

➢ Salts using citric acid (found in

oranges, lemons) are called citrates.

Many methods for making salts start with acids. All acids contain
hydrogen.
 8
Project for December
 9
Making salts using a metal and an acid

• The general equation for the reaction of metals with acid is:
acid + metal salt + hydrogen

The word and symbol equations for the reaction between

zinc and hydrochloric acid are:
zinc + hydrochloric acid → zinc chloride + hydrogen
Zn + 2HCl → ZnCl2 + H2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj4_pe5E8Y8
Making the salt zinc sulfate 10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bli5QSTDrSg
 Making salts using a metal oxide 11

➢ Some metals will not react with acids to make salts. For example, silver
and copper are too unreactive to displace hydrogen from an acid.
➢ so we have to find another way of making salts from unreactive metals.
We can do this by starting with a metal oxide.

The general equation for this reaction is:

metal oxide + acid salt + water

➢ we can make copper sulfate by heating copper oxide with

sulfuric acid.
➢ The word and symbol equations for this reaction are:
copper oxide + sulfuric acid copper sulfate + water
CuO + H2SO4 → CuSO4 + H2O
 12
Making salts using a metal oxide and an acid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIOMlwBoe_4
 13
Making the salt (copper sulfate)
Making the salt (copper sulfate) 14
 15
Soluble and Insoluble Salts
Some salts are soluble and some are insoluble depending on
the types of metals.
 Preparation of Salts 16

• Preparation of salts depend on whether the salt is soluble in

water or not.
• Soluble salts are usually prepared by crystallization method.
• Insoluble salts are usually prepared by precipitation method.

Note: Salts are compounds that have hundreds of different uses

in everyday life. Salts are formed when the hydrogen in an acid
is replaced by a metal or ammonium.