In GCE O-Level Pure Chemistry (and other equivalent basic Chemistry syllabus), students always think that all salts are neutral and have pH value of 7 when they dissolves in water. This is not true! Soluble salts can be neutral, acidic or alkaline.
Example of a neutral salt: sodium chloride, NaCl
Example of an acidic salt: ammonium chloride, NH4Cl
Example of an alkaline salt: sodium ethanoate, CH3COONa
This is clearly shown in advanced Chemistry syllabus, such as Cambridge GCE A-Level H2 Chemistry. In this video, Mr Sean Chua used a GCE A-Level exam-based question to show you why some salts are not neutral.
In this case, you can easily determine that the salt given in the question is an alkaline/basic salt and will have pH more than 7, within seconds! By manipulating the values given in the question, you can even determine the exact pH of the salt being given.
Watch the video below on how Mr Sean Chua, Master Trainer for Chemistry in Winners Education – The Chemistry Tuition Specialist, determine the exact pH of a salt.
I hope you find the content easy for your understanding and if you have any questions, leave me a comment below. Feel free to share this blog post with your friends.
In the recent posts, Mr Sean Chua has also shared the following videos:
- How to determine a Bronsted-Lowry Acid-Base Reaction
- How to determine the pH and Degree of Dissociation of a Weak Acid
In case, you are new to this Chemistry blog and have missed those important posts, do check them out! It will definitely help you in the understanding of this important Chemistry topic.
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PS: Under related articles below, there are several blog post discussions and questions related to Acid-Base Equilibrium. You can also do a keyword search using the search box at the top right hand corner. You will be able to find tips and notes on H2 Chemistry.
