Question

Write the name and formula of a neutral salt.

Answer 1

Hint: Salts can be of three types: Acidic salts, Basic salts and Neutral salts. Most of the salts are ionic and are composed of ions rather than molecules. The formula of an ionic salt is known as the empirical formula which is based on the proportion of the atoms that make up the salt. A neutral salt is salt that produces a neutral solution.

Complete step by step answer:
An acidic salt is a salt that produces an acidic solution when dissolved in a solvent. It is a product of a strong acid and a weak base. An acidic salt also releases a ${H}^{+}$ ion when dissolved in water.
A basic salt is a salt that produces a basic solution when dissolved in a solvent. It is a product of a strong base and a weak acid. Basic salt also releases a ${OH}^{-}$ ion when dissolved in water.
Whereas, a neutral salt is salt that produces a neutral solution, i.e., neither acidic nor basic when dissolved in a solvent. It is a product of either a weak base and a weak acid or a strong acid and a strong base. A neutral salt doesn't have either a ${H}^{+}$ or a ${OH}^{-}$ ion in the solution or even if these are present, they are present in equal quantities in the solution.

An example of a neutral salt is sodium chloride. And its formula is $NaCl$.
It is most commonly used as the common salt in the food items.
The formula indicates that equal numbers of sodium and chlorine atoms that combine to form sodium chloride salt are equal. Sodium chloride (${NaCl}$) and water, (${H}_{2}O$) are formed by the neutralization of a strong base, sodium hydroxide ($NaOH$) and a strong acid, hydrochloric acid ($HCl$).
The reaction is given given as follows:
$\underset { Hydrochloric\quad acid }{ HCl } \quad +\quad \underset { Sodium\quad hydroxide }{ NaOH } \quad \longrightarrow \quad \underset { Sodium\quad chloride }{ NaCl } \quad +\quad \underset { Water }{ { H }_{ 2 } } O$
Hence, a neutral salt is sodium chloride and its formula is NaCl.

Note: An acidic salt has a pH value less than 7. A basic salt has a pH value greater than 7. And a neutral salt has a pH value of 7 which indicates that the salt is neutral in nature, that is neither acidic nor basic in nature.