Salt: A Common Ionic Compound

The word salt can be a stand in for any ionic compound in chemistry, but to most people, this word refers to table salt. This kind of salt is used as a condiment throughout the world, but it was not always so abundant. Two thousand years ago, Roman soldiers received part of their pay as salt, which explains why the words salt and salary come from the same Latin root (salarium). Today, table salt is either mined or obtained from the evaporation of saltwater. (Sea salt production was discussed in more detail in the section titled “Classification of Matter.”)

Table salt, also known as sodium chloride (NaCl), is a simple compound of two elements that are necessary for the human body to function properly. Sodium, for example, is important for nerve conduction and fluid balance. In fact, human blood is about a 0.9% sodium chloride solution, and a solution called normal saline is commonly administered intravenously in hospitals.

Although some salt in our diets is necessary to replenish the sodium and chloride ions that we excrete in urine and sweat, too much is unhealthy, and many people may be ingesting more salt than their bodies need. The RDI of sodium is 2,400 mg—the amount in about 1 teaspoon of salt—but the average intake of sodium in the United States is between 4,000 mg and 5,000 mg, partly because salt is a common additive in many prepared foods. Previously, the high ingestion of salt was thought to be associated with high blood pressure, but current research does not support this link. Even so, some doctors still recommend a low-salt diet (never a “no-salt” diet) for patients with high blood pressure, which may include using a salt substitute. Most salt substitutes use potassium instead of sodium because, like sodium, potassium forms cations with a +1 charge. Some people complain that the potassium imparts a slightly bitter taste.

Attributions

This page is based on “Chemistry 2e” by Paul Flowers, Klaus Theopold, Richard Langley, William R. Robinson, PhD, Openstax which is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-2e/pages/1-introduction

This page is based on “The Basics of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry” by David W Ball, John W Hill, Rhonda J Scott, Saylor which is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Access for free at http://saylordotorg.github.io/text_the-basics-of-general-organic-and-biological-chemistry/index.html