A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Why is sodium chloride solid at room temperature?

Best Answers

The melting/boiling point of a substance determines what state of matter it takes at a certain temperature. read more

Examples of ionic solids are sodium chloride - NaCl (which has atomic ions), potassium nitrate - #KNO_3# (where the cation is atomic and the anion is molecular) or ammonium sulfate #(NH_4)_2SO_4# (where both ions are molecular). read more

Most ionic compounds are solid at room temperature because they have high melting points due to the strong electrostatic forces between them. Oxygen on the other hand is a covalently bonded diatomic molecuele (O2) and has a very low boiling point. read more

Sodium chloride is not a liquid at room temperature. In fact, it is the chemical name for common table salt, which is a solid. read more

So it requires less energy to break their attractive forces, even at temperatures lower than that of the room conditions. In case of sodium chloride compound, it contains positively charged sodium(Na+) and negatively charged chloride(Cl-) ions bound by very strong electrostatic force of attraction(ionic bond). read more

Related Facts

Related Types

Further Research