How to determine if a salt is acidic or basic?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking how to assess whether a salt is acidic or basic, which involves understanding the nature of the ions that compose the salt and their behavior in water.
Answer
Examine the origins of the salt's cation and anion.
The final answer is to determine the salt's acidity or basicity by examining the origins of its cation and anion.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is to determine the salt's acidity or basicity by examining the origins of its cation and anion.
More Information
Salts are ionic compounds formed from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. The acid-base character of the resultant salt solution in water depends on the strengths of the original acids and bases that formed it.
Tips
A common mistake is not considering the strength of the acids and bases involved. Ensure you know whether each acid/base is strong or weak.
Sources
- 7.8: Acid-Base Properties of Salts - Chemistry LibreTexts - chem.libretexts.org
- Acid–base properties of salts (video) - Khan Academy - khanacademy.org
