Chemical Bonds ~ Table Salt
Salt, the most commonly known of which is sodium chloride, or table
salt, is a compound formed by the chemical reaction of an acid with a base.
During this reaction, the acid and base are neutralized producing salt,
water and heat. Sodium chloride, is distributed throughout nature as
deposits on land created by the evaporation of ancient seas and is also
dissolved in the oceans. Salt is an important compound with many uses
including food preservation, soap production, and de-icing roads and
walkways. It is also the primary source of chlorine and sodium for
industrial chemicals.
In terms of chemistry, a salt can be any compound formed by the reaction of
an acid with a base. Energy, in the form of heat, is given off during this
neutralization reaction so it is said to be exothermic. The most common
salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), is a product of the reaction between
hydrochloric acid (HCl) and the base sodium hydroxide (NaOH). In this
reaction, positively charged hydrogen ions (H+) from the acid are
attracted to negatively charged hydroxyl ions (OH-) from the base. These
ions combine and form water. After the water forms, the sodium and
chlorine ions remain dissolved and the acid and base are said to be
neutralized. Solid salt is formed when the water evaporates and the
negatively charged chlorine ions combine with the positively charged
sodium ions.
Solid sodium chloride exists in the form of tiny, cube-shaped particles called
crystals. These crystals are colorless, have a density of 2.165 g/cm3 and
melt at 1,472°F (800.8°C). They also dissolve in water, separating into the
component sodium and chlorine ions. This process known as ionization is
important to many industrial chemical reactions
Read more: Salt - Sodium, Water, Ions, and Reaction - JRank Articles
http://science.jrank.org/pages/5948/Salt.html#ixzz3CCt0xaKa
Chemical Relationships
Chemical Equations of Water
by Anthony Carpi, Ph.D.
Chemical reactions happen all around us: when we light a match, start a car, eat
dinner, or walk the dog. A chemical reaction is the process by which substances
bond together (or break bonds) and, in doing so, either release or consume energy
(see our Chemical Reactions module). A chemical equation is the shorthand that
scientists use to describe a chemical reaction. Let's take the reaction of hydrogen
with oxygen to form water as an example. If we had a container of hydrogen gas
and burned this in the presence of oxygen, the two gases would react together,
releasing energy, to form water. To write the chemical equation for this reaction, we
would place the substances reacting (the reactants) on the left side of an equation
with an arrow pointing to the substances being formed on the right side of the
equation (the products). Given this information, one might guess that the equation
for this reaction is written:
H + O → H2O
The plus sign on the left side of the equation means that hydrogen (H) and oxygen
(O) are reacting. Unfortunately, there are two problems with this chemical equation.
First, because atoms like to have full valence shells, single H or O atoms are rare. In
nature, both hydrogen and oxygen are found as diatomic molecules, H2 and O2,
respectively (in forming diatomic molecules the atoms share electrons and complete
their valence shells). Hydrogen gas, therefore, consists of H2 molecules; oxygen gas
consists of O2. Correcting our equation we get:
H2 + O2
→
H2O