What is salt composed of?" Maria wondered. She took a microscope from the cabinet in her science classroom, put some salt on a microscope slide, and focused on the salt. She saw tiny squares on the slide. "I guess salt is made only of crystals:" Maria observed.
What is your question?
If the question is "what is salt composed of", the answer is sodium chloride; i.e., NaCl.
Salt is composed of crystals primarily made up of two elements: sodium and chlorine. To observe this using a microscope, Maria can follow these steps:
1. Start by placing a few grains of salt on a clean microscope slide.
2. Add a drop of water onto the salt to create a thin layer of saltwater on the slide.
3. Carefully lower a coverslip onto the slide to cover the saltwater.
4. Place the slide on the stage of the microscope and secure it in place.
5. Adjust the focus knob to bring the salt crystals into clear view.
Under the microscope, Maria would observe the individual salt crystals. These crystals usually take the form of tiny squares or cubes. This visual observation supports Maria's realization that salt is composed primarily of these crystalline structures. These crystals are formed when sodium ions (positively charged) and chlorine ions (negatively charged) come together to form an orderly arrangement.