Question

Is salt an element, a compound, a homogenous mixture, or heterogeneous mixture?

Answer 1

Hint: In chemistry, a substance is an element if it is made from one type of atom. A substance is called a compound if it is made from atoms of different elements which are joined through chemical bonds. A substance is said to be a mixture if it is made by mixing different elements and compounds.

Complete answer:
When two or more than two substances are mixed, the resulting substance is called a mixture. Homogeneous mixture is a type of mixture in which there is uniform distribution of components throughout the mixture. That means there is only one phase in these types of mixtures. Heterogeneous mixture is a type of mixture in which we can easily see the components of mixture. That means more than one phase is found in these types of mixtures and it can also be seen by naked eyes. Common salt is a compound as it is the binary salt of chlorine gas and sodium metal. It is represented by the chemical formula $NaCl$, which has one atom of sodium and one atom of the element chlorine. Salt is made up of two elements sodium and chlorine which are bound chemically in a fixed ratio. So, it is an example of a compound.

Note:
Elements combine in a fixed ratio by mass to produce compounds. Whenever a new compound is formed, the individual properties of the elements no longer exist and the new compound will have new properties.