Question

- What are salts? How can they be formed? Give any two methods and write one
chemical reaciton for each of these.
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Answer 1

The reaction between an acid and a base is called Neutralisation. This is exactly how indigestion medicines works – it contain chemicals that react with and neutralise excess stomach acid. Industry uses this same method to produce a wide range of salts and products.

Here’s how neutralisation works:

Acidic solutions contain hydrogen (H+) ions.

Alkaline solutions contain hydroxide (OH–) ions.

Here’s the word equation for a reaction between an acid and an alkali:

Acid + alkali → salt + water

The ionic equation for all neutralisation reactions is:

H+(aq) + OH–(aq) → H2O(l)

The type of salt that is produced during the reaction depends on the acid and alkali used.