Is table salt an element or a compound?

Understand the Problem

The question is asking whether table salt is classified as an element or a compound. To answer this, we consider the composition of table salt, which is made of sodium and chloride ions (NaCl), indicating that it is a compound.

More Information

Table salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), is fundamentally a compound composed of the elements sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). It is an ionic compound and exists in a 1:1 ratio of sodium ions to chloride ions.

Tips

A common mistake is to confuse a compound with an element; remember, a compound is composed of two or more different elements chemically combined in a fixed ratio.

Sources

• Is Salt an Element or Compound? - EnthuZiastic - enthu.com
• Why is table salt a compound? - Quora - quora.com
• Sodium Chloride | ClNa | CID 5234 - PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov