A salt solution can be acidic, basic, or neutral. when dissolved in water, which of the following salts will make the solution basic: KCl, FeCl3, NaNO3, CaCO3, LiF, and NH4Br?
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To determine if a salt will make a solution acidic, basic, or neutral, you need to analyze the constituent ions of the salt. Here's a step-by-step process to determine if the salt will make the solution basic:
1. Identify the cation (positive ion) and the anion (negative ion) in each salt:
- KCl: Cation = K⁺, Anion = Cl⁻
- FeCl3: Cation = Fe³⁺, Anion = Cl⁻
- NaNO3: Cation = Na⁺, Anion = NO₃⁻
- CaCO3: Cation = Ca²⁺, Anion = CO₃²⁻
- LiF: Cation = Li⁺, Anion = F⁻
- NH4Br: Cation = NH₄⁺, Anion = Br⁻
2. Focus on the anion of each salt, as it will affect the pH of the solution.
- Chloride (Cl⁻) and bromide (Br⁻) ions are considered neutral and do not significantly affect the pH of a solution.
3. Carbonate (CO₃²⁻) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) ions are considered to be acidic or neutral: they do not have a significant effect on the pH of a solution.
4. Hydroxide (OH⁻), if present, would make the solution basic. However, none of the given salts contain hydroxide ions.
5. Ammonium (NH₄⁺) is the key to determining if the solution will be basic. Ammonium ions can act as weak acids, releasing hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. This results in an increase in the concentration of H⁺ ions, making the solution acidic. Consequently, the anion accompanying NH₄⁺ ions will determine if the overall solution is acidic or basic.
Given this information, the salt NH4Br is the only salt that contains the NH₄⁺ (ammonium) ion. Since ammonium can make the solution acidic, NH4Br will not make the solution basic.
Therefore, none of the given salts (KCl, FeCl3, NaNO3, CaCO3, LiF, or NH4Br) will make the solution basic.