Question

How does table salt (NaCl) dissolve in water?

A. Water molecules hydrogen bond with sodium ions and chloride ions.
B. Each sodium ion is surrounded by chloride ions.
C. Each NaCl molecule is surrounded by water molecules.
D. The oxygen atoms in water molecules attract sodium ions.

Answer 1

I don't like any of the answers but the best one here is A. NaCl dissolves in water because the NaCl crystal is surrounded by H2O molecules with the O end attracted to the Na ion and the H end attracted to the Cl ion. That attraction breaks the lattice energy of the NaCl crystal.