Asked by rebecca
is Dissolving salt in water a chemical or physical change
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Dissolving common salt (NaCl) in water is a physical change.
Why: the ionic crystal lattice breaks apart into Na+ and Cl− ions that become surrounded (solvated) by water molecules, but the chemical identities of sodium and chloride remain the same. No new substance is produced, and the process is reversible (you can recover the solid by evaporating the water).
Notes:
- Some salts can chemically react with water (for example, certain metal oxides or salts that hydrolyze like NH4Cl affecting pH); those cases involve chemical changes.
- Energy change (heat absorbed or released) during dissolution does not by itself prove a chemical change.
Why: the ionic crystal lattice breaks apart into Na+ and Cl− ions that become surrounded (solvated) by water molecules, but the chemical identities of sodium and chloride remain the same. No new substance is produced, and the process is reversible (you can recover the solid by evaporating the water).
Notes:
- Some salts can chemically react with water (for example, certain metal oxides or salts that hydrolyze like NH4Cl affecting pH); those cases involve chemical changes.
- Energy change (heat absorbed or released) during dissolution does not by itself prove a chemical change.
Submit Your Answer
We prioritize human answers over AI answers.
If you are human, and you can answer this question, please submit your answer.