Question

Determine the equivalent weight of the salt $Nacl$.

Answer 1

Hint: The word equivalent means equal. Equivalent weight is said as the quantity of any substance that will combine with a fixed quantity of other substances. It can also be said as the mass of any substance that is equal to one gram of hydrogen. Equivalent weight varies for an acid, base and salt. The given compound is NaCl ,which is a salt.

Complete answer:
To find the equivalent weight, we need to know its formula. In this case, as the equivalent weight of salt is asked, the formula will be gram molecular weight divided by its valency. Whereas, gram molecular weight is the whole mass of a given compound. For NaCl, it is the addition of weights of Na and Cl which together gives 58.5 . Valency is defined as the ability to combine. Here, Na loses one electron to attain octet and becomes cation whereas Cl gains one electron and becomes an anion. Hence, the valency is 1. By substituting the values, the answer will be 58.5 which is its molecular weight itself.
$Equivalent weight$ = $\dfrac{Molecular weight}{valency}$
$ = \dfrac{{58.5}}{1}$
$ = 58.5$

Note:
For other compounds which act as oxidizing or reducing agents, the equivalent weight will be the ratio of gram molecular weight and number of electrons that are lost or gained by each molecule. So here, the equivalent weight of any substance differs with the type of reaction it goes through. By using equivalent weights, normality can be known. Normality is defined as the number of equivalent weights of any compound that is dissolved in one liter solution.