1

Salts
A salt is formed when the replaceable hydrogen in an acid is replaced by a metal or the
ammonium ion from a base.
In a salt:
• the metal part (cation) comes from the base
• the non-metal part (anion) comes from the acid

Normal Salts
Normal salts are formed when all of the replaceable hydrogen ions in an acid are replaced by
metal or ammonium ions. All acids can form normal salts.
K2O (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → K2SO4 (aq) + H2O (l)
Since all the H+ ions in the sulphuric acid is replaced by K+ ions, the normal salt potassium
sulphate is formed. Normal salts have no replaceable H+ ions.
Some salts contain a fixed number of water molecules between ions in their crystal lattice known
as water of crystallisation. Salts which contain water of crystallisation are called hydrated salts
and are represented like CuSO4.5H2O. This means for every mole of copper sulphate there are
five moles of water molecules in the structure.

Acid Salts
Acid salts are formed when the replaceable hydrogen ions in an acid are partially replaced by
metal or ammonium ions. Only dibasic and tribasic acids can form acid salts. (Acids containing 2
or 3 replaceable hydrogen ions) When potassium hydroxide reacts with sulphuric acid and only
one H+ ion is replaced by a K+ ion, forming an acid salt potassium hydrogen sulphate.
NaOH (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) → NaHSO4 (aq) + H2O (l)

Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) can produce one normal salt, and two different acid salts. The salts
produced when phosphoric acid reacting with sodium hydroxide are as followed:
3NaOH (aq) + H3PO4 → Na3PO4 (aq) + 3H2O (l) [sodium phosphate – normal salt]
2NaOH (aq) + H3PO4 → Na2HPO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l) [sodium hydrogenphosphate – acid salt]
NaOH (aq) + H3PO4 → NaH2PO4 (aq) + H2O (l) [sodium dihydrogenphosphate – acid salt]
 2

Salts formed by common acids

Acid Formula Salt(s) Formed Anion Present
Hydrochloric acid HCl chlorides Cl-
Nitric acid HNO3 nitrates NO3-
Ethanoic acid CH3COOH ethanoates CH3COO-
Sulphuric acid H2SO4 sulphates SO42-
hydrogensulphates HSO4-
Carbonic acid H2CO3 Carbonates CO32-
hydrogencarbonates HCO3-
Phosphoric acid H3PO4 phosphates PO43-
hydrogenphosphates HPO42-
dihydrogenphosphates H2PO4-

Preparation of Salts
Salts are very important compounds and their preparation vary based on if the salt is soluble or
insoluble.
Table showing soluble salts
Type of Salts Solubility
Sodium salts All sodium salts are soluble
Potassium salts All potassium salts are soluble
Ammonium salts All ammonium salts are soluble
Nitrates All nitrates are soluble
Chlorides, bromides and iodides (halides) All halides are soluble except for silver
halides and lead halides.
Sulphates All suphates are soluble except for barium
sulphate and lead sulphate. Calcium sulphate
and silver sulphate are slightly soluble
Hydrogen carbonates Most are soluble

Table showing insoluble salts

Type of Salts Solubility

Carbonates All carbonates are insoluble except for

sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and
ammonium carbonate.
Oxides All oxides are insoluble except for sodium
oxide and potassium hydroxide.
Hydroxides All hydroxides are insoluble except for
sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and
ammonium hydroxide.
 3

Preparation of Insoluble Salts

Insoluble salts can be prepared by reaction two solutions.
• One solution must contain the cation of the salt being prepared
• The other solution must contain the anion of the salt being prepared.
This method is known as ionic precipitation. In ionic precipitation two soluble salts are reacted in
solution to form the insoluble salt and another soluble salt. The soluble salt and insoluble salt can
be separated by filtration.
Eg. Barium sulphate is insoluble. It can be formed by reacting barium nitrate with sodium
sulphate, when these two reactants combine they form solid barium sulphate and sodium nitrate
solution:

Ba(NO3)2 (aq) + Na2SO4 (aq) → BaSO4 (s) + 2NaNO3 (aq)

Ionic equation:
Ba2+ (aq) + SO42- (aq) → BaSO4 (s)

Method to prepare an Insoluble salt:

1. Choose two soluble salts, one containing the anion, the other containing the cation
required.
2. Dissolve both salts to make solutions.
3. Mix both salt solutions to form the precipitate
4. Filter and collect the residue
5. Wash the residue with distilled water and leave to dry.

Preparation of Soluble Salts

There are three main methods of preparing soluble salts:
• Direct combination
• Reacting an acid with a metal, insoluble carbonate or an insoluble base.
• Titration between an acid and an alkali.

Direct Combination
Salts consisting of two simple ions can be prepared by reacting two elements together. The metal
forms the cation and the non-metal forms the anion.
 4

Eg. Aluminium chloride can be prepared by reacting dry chlorine gas over heated aluminium
foil. Since there is no water present in this reaction, the salt formed in an anhydrous salt.
Anhydrous salts contain no water of crystallisation.
The equation for the reaction is as follows:
Aluminium + chlorine → aluminium chloride
2Al (s) + 3Cl2 (g) → 2AlCl3 (s)

Reactions with Acids

Many soluble salts can be prepared by the following reactions.
1. Reacting a reactive metal and an acid
Eg.
Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Magnesium reacts with hydrochloric acid forming the soluble magnesium chloride and
hydrogen gas. Any remaining magnesium, it can be filtered out of the solution.

2. Reacting an insoluble carbonate and an acid

Eg.
MgCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
Magnesium carbonate reacts with hydrochloric acid forming the soluble magnesium
chloride, water and carbon dioxide gas. Any remaining magnesium carbonate can be
filtered out of the solution.
3. Reacting an insoluble base and an acid
Eg.
CuO (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → CuSO4 (aq) + H2O (l)
Solid copper oxide is added in excess to sulphuric acid and heated gently until no more
dissolves. Remaining solid copper oxide can then be filtered out of the solution of copper
sulphate.

Method to prepare Soluble Salts using reactions with Acids

• Choose appropriate reagents. Acid provides the anion, insoluble base/carbonate/metal
provides the cation.
• Place acid in beaker then add the other reactant. For a metal or carbonate when
effervescence stops all the acid has reacted.
 5

• Test the solution with blue litmus paper. If the litmus paper remains blue all the acid has
reacted.
• Filter the excess unreacted solid.
• Evaporate the filtrate over a water bath. If a hydrated salt is being formed evaporate until
the first signs of crystals being formed, then leave the concentrated solution to cool
slowly.

Titration
Potassium and sodium react very violently with acids which makes it dangerous to use those
reactions. All potassium, sodium and ammonium salts are soluble. That means any excess salt is
also dissolved causing the resultant solution to not be pure.
Potassium, sodium and ammonium salts are prepared by adding an acid to an aqueous alkali until
the solution is neutral. To prepare sodium chloride, hydrochloric acid is added to sodium
hydroxide solution until the resulting solution is neutral.
NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)
An indicator is used to tell the neutralisation point of the reaction. An indicator is one colour in
an acid and another in a base. The technique used to determine the exact volume of acid needed
to neutralize a fixed volume of aqueous alkali is known as a titration.
Uses of Salts in Everyday Life
Salt Use
Sodium hydrogencarbonate (NaHCO3) An ingredient in baking powder
Sodium carbonate (washing soda) This is used to soften hard water by
(NaCO3) precipitating calcium and magnesium ions as
insoluble carbonates.
Calcium carbonate (limestone) This is used in the manufacture of cement for
(CaCO3) use in the construction industry.
Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt) Added to bath water, it is used to ease stress
(MgSO4.7H2O) and relax the body. Taken orally Epsom salt is
used as a saline laxative.
Sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and sodium nitrite Used as a food preservative especially to
(NaNO2) preserve meat.
Calcium sulphate (Gypsum) (CaSO4.2H2O) Used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris
which is used when setting broken bones and
as a building material.
Sodium benzoate Used as a food preservative in food with low
pH.
 6

Dangers of Salts
Salt Danger
Sodium chloride (NaCl) Excessive consumption can lead to
hypertension
Sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and sodium nitrite May increase a person’s risk of developing
(NaNO2) cancer.
Sodium benzoate May increase hyperactivity and asthma in
children. May increase a person’s risk of
developing cancer.

Neutralisation Reactions
A neutralisation reaction is any reaction between an acid and a base forming a salt and water.
When a strong acid reacts with a strong alkali, the reaction is completed when neither acid nor
alkali is in excess. At this point the products have a pH of 7 which is neutral. This point is known
as the neutralisation point or end point. All neutralisation reactions are exothermic reactions, that
is they product heat.
In a neutralisation reaction the H+ ions from the acid react with the OH- ions the alkali forming
water (H2O) which is neutral. The other ions remain in solution as spectator ions.

NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)

The ionic equation for this reaction is:
OH- (aq) + H+ (aq) → H2O (l)
The Na+ and Cl- remain in solution as spectator ions.

Determining the Neutralisation Point in an Acid-base reaction

Neutralisation point can be determined using an indicator, pH meter or temperature change.

Using an indicator
An indicator is a substance which has one colour in an acidic solution and another in an alkaline
solution. When performing a titration using an indicator, a fixed volume of solution is pipetted
into a conical flask and a few drops of the indicator is added. The other solution is added slowly
from the burette and there will be a colour change at the neutralisation point due to the indicator.
The most common indicators are phenolphthalein and methyl orange to determine the
neutralisation point in a titration.
 7

Using Temperature Change

This is called a thermometric titration. When using a temperature change to determine the
neutralisation point, a fixed volume of one solution is placed in an insulated contained and its
initial temperature is recorded. The other solution is added in small fixed quantities from the
burette eg 1cm3. The mixture is stirred quickly and the temperature is recorded. This is repeated
until the temperature starts dropping for a few readings. A graph is drawn showing temperature
against volume of solution added. Two best fit lines are drawn, one for the part with the rising
temperatures and another for the part of decreasing temperatures. Where both best fit lines
intersect is the neutralisation point.
The temperature initially rises because all neutralisation reactions are exothermic.

Common Neutralisation Reactions

Some common neutralisation acids that occur often are:
• Using antacids to treat indigestion and acid reflux.
• Toothpaste is basic and it neutralises any acid in the mouth to help prevent tooth decay.