Salt (chemistry)

Salt is a substance that you might be familiar with - it's what mom or dad sprinkles onto your fries or popcorn to give it some extra flavor! But, salt is also a type of chemical compound that's made up of two elements - sodium and chlorine.

Sodium is a very reactive metal that you can't find naturally in its pure form because it reacts with everything in its surroundings. Chlorine is a gas that you can find in the air but it's poisonous to breathe on its own. When sodium and chlorine react together, they form a new compound - salt.

Salt has a special structure called an ionic bond that holds its atoms together. This means that all of the sodium and chlorine atoms are stuck together really tightly in a pattern that looks like a bunch of cubes stacked on top of each other.

Salt is also really important in chemistry because it can dissolve in water really easily. When you add salt to water, it breaks apart into its individual sodium and chlorine ions. This means that salt can conduct electricity if you put it in water and connect it to a battery!

Overall, salt might be a simple seasoning in your kitchen but it's actually a really important and fascinating part of chemistry!