Salts - normal salts, acid salts

Salts are very important to us.

Table 1 Example of salts

Salt	Use
Ammonium chloride	Torch batteries
Ammonium nitrate	Fertilisers
Calcium carbonate	Extraction of iron, making cement, making glass
Calcium chloride	Extraction of sodium, drying agent
Calcium sulphate	Making plaster boards and casts for injured limbs
Iron(II) sulphate	Iron tablets
Magnesium sulphate	Medicines
Potassium nitrate	Fertiliser, gunpowder
Silver bromide	Photography
Sodium carbonate	Making glass, washing powders, water softener
Sodium chloride	Making hydrochloric acid, food flavouring, hospital saline, making sodium carbonate
Sodium stearate	Soaps
Tin(II) flouride	Additive to toothpaste

 

Ammonium chloride in a battery

Ammonium nitrate fertilisers

Calcium carbonate

Iron sulphate for making Iron supplement,
also named as ferrous tablet

Magnesium sulphate

Silver bromide

Sodium carbonate

Sodium chloride

Sodium stearate

Normal Salts

A Normal salt is formed when all the hydrogen ions(H⁺) of an acid, have been replaced by metal ions or by the ammonium ions(NH4⁺), All the salts listed in table 1 are normal salts. 

Normal salts may be soluble or insoluble in cold water.

• all nitrates salts are soluble
• all common sodium, potassium and ammonium salts are soluble
• all chlorides salts all soluble except lead, silver and mercury 
• all sulfates salts are soluble except lead, barium and calcium

Table 2 Normal Salts

Acid	Type of salt	Example
Carbonic acid H2CO3	Carbonates	Sodium carbonate Na2CO3
Sulfuric acid H2SO4	sulphates	Sodium sulfate Na2SO4
Ethanoic acid CH3COOH	Ethanoates	Sodium ethanoate CH3COONa
Hydrochloric acid HCl	Chlorides	Potassium chloride KCl
Nitric acid HNO3	Nitrates	Potassium nitrate KNO3

Acid Salts

An acid salt is formed where not all of the hydrogen ions of an acid have been replaced by metal ions or the ammonium ions. For examples:

Acids such as sulfuric acid and carbonic acid which have two hydrogen ions per molecule, when only one of the hydrogen ions is replaced with a metal ion, the salts formed still contain hydrogen ions.

Table 3 Acid Salts

Acid	Type of acid salt	Example
Carbonic acid H2CO3	Hydrogencarbonate	Sodium hydrogencarbonate NaHCO3
Sulfuric acid HsSO4	Hydrogensulfate	Potassium hydrogensulfate KHSO4