Making Salts — GCSE Chemistry Revision
Revise Making Salts for GCSE Chemistry. Step-by-step explanation, worked examples, common mistakes and exam-style practice aligned to AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, Eduqas, CCEA, Cambridge International (CIE), SQA, IB, AP.
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Go to pH and NeutralisationWhat is Making Salts?
A salt is a chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base. There are several methods for making salts, depending on whether the salt is soluble or insoluble and the nature of the reactants. Common methods include reacting an acid with a metal, an insoluble base, or a carbonate.
Board notes: The preparation of salts is a key practical topic for all exam boards. You need to know the different methods and be able to describe the practical steps involved in making a pure, dry sample of a salt. Titration is a required practical for all boards.
Step-by-step explanationWorked example
To make pure, dry crystals of copper(II) sulfate, you would add excess copper(II) oxide (an insoluble base) to sulfuric acid and warm gently. Filter the mixture to remove the unreacted copper oxide. Then, heat the resulting blue solution to evaporate about half the water, and leave it to cool and crystallise.
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Common mistakes
- 1Choosing the wrong method to make a particular salt. For example, you cannot make a salt of a very reactive metal (like sodium) by adding the metal directly to acid, as the reaction is too violent.
- 2Forgetting the steps for crystallisation. After filtering to remove excess reactant, the solution must be gently heated to evaporate some water, then left to cool so crystals can form.
- 3Not washing the crystals after they are formed. The crystals should be washed with a small amount of distilled water and then dried to obtain a pure sample.
Making Salts exam questions
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Step-by-step method
Step-by-step explanation
4 steps · Worked method for Making Salts
Core concept
A salt is a chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base. There are several methods for making salts, depending on whether the salt is soluble or insoluble and the nature of the r…
Frequently asked questions
How do you make an insoluble salt?
Insoluble salts are made by a precipitation reaction. This involves mixing two solutions containing the ions that make up the insoluble salt. For example, mixing solutions of lead(II) nitrate and sodium chloride will produce a precipitate of insoluble lead(II) chloride.
What is a titration?
A titration is a technique used to make a soluble salt from an acid and an alkali. It allows you to find the exact volume of acid and alkali that are needed to neutralise each other, so you get a pure salt solution with no excess acid or alkali.