Question

what is the difference between the salt formed when an acid reacts with a metal and a base reacts with a metal? illustrate your answer with chemical reactions using zinc as the metal​

Answer 1

When a metal reacts with an acid, it forms a salt of the anion in the acid, displacing Hydrogen from the acid. For example Sodium reacts with Hydrochloric acid to form Sodium Chloride and Hydrogen gas. In this reaction, Sodium displaced H+ from HCl which got released as Hydrogen gas whereas the Na+ ions in the acid (due to the putting Of Sodium metal) combine with Cl- ions to form Sodium Chloride because Sodium is more reactive than Hydrogen.

The salt that is formed due to the reaction of a base and a metal is a salt of the metal in the base and the metal that's put in the base but in this case the metal that is put doesn't displace the metal in the base. For example- Aluminium reacts with Sodium Hydroxide to form Sodium Aluminate and Hydrogen gas. Its clear that Aluminium hasn't displaced Sodium from Sodium Hydroxide but has formed a salt of Sodium I.e Sodium Aluminate.(NaAlO2)