Question

Why does salt form when sodium and chloride react?

Answer 1

Hint : Salts contain positive and negative ions reacting together resulting in the formation of neutral salt. These positive ions are cations and the negative ions are anions. Sodium and chlorine react together to form the most common salt, the table salt that is used in our everyday life.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of cations and anions. Salts are composed of related numbers of cations and anions. Cations are positively charged and anions are negatively charged, they combine to form the product, electrically neutral salt. These component ions can be inorganic, and monatomic.
The most common form of salt that is known is table salt which chemically has sodium ions as cations and chloride ions as anions. Sodium has one electron in its outermost shell while chlorine has seven electrons in its outermost shell. When the reaction between the two occurs, the sodium atom loses one electron to a chlorine atom and becomes positively charged while chlorine by accepting that electron becomes negatively charged. The final product formed in the reaction is an electrically neutral salt. They both form an ionic lattice that is governed by strong electrostatic attractions.
Salts often form a crystal structure or crystal lattice, a highly ordered formation of molecules. This ordered structure and strong ionic bonding lead many salts to have some special properties. These special properties include their crystalline solid structure, their property of being hard and brittle, their tendency to have high melting and boiling point.

Note :
Salts can be many different types, acidic salt, basic salt, double salt, and normal salt. Salts make a very good electrolyte, meaning they dissolve in water to create free moving ions, which can conduct electricity.