Which of the following is an example of a salt?

Which of the following is an example of a salt?

• A. NaCl
• B. HCl
• C. KOH
• D. NH4OH

Answer: (A)

A salt is an ionic compound formed when an acid reacts with a base, made from a cation from the base and an anion from the acid, and it typically dissociates into ions in water. In this set, sodium chloride is the salt because it consists of Na+ from a base (NaOH) and Cl− from an acid (HCl). When it dissolves, it splits into Na+ and Cl− ions, neither acting as an acid or base in solution, which is characteristic of a neutral salt formed from a strong acid and a strong base. The other options are acids or bases themselves: HCl is a strong acid, KOH is a strong base, and NH4OH is a basic solution (ammonium hydroxide).

A salt is an ionic compound formed when an acid reacts with a base, made from a cation from the base and an anion from the acid, and it typically dissociates into ions in water. In this set, sodium chloride is the salt because it consists of Na+ from a base (NaOH) and Cl− from an acid (HCl). When it dissolves, it splits into Na+ and Cl− ions, neither acting as an acid or base in solution, which is characteristic of a neutral salt formed from a strong acid and a strong base. The other options are acids or bases themselves: HCl is a strong acid, KOH is a strong base, and NH4OH is a basic solution (ammonium hydroxide).