Salt is soluble in water because the salt particles and the water particles are attracted to each other. If the substance's particles are not attracted to the solvent, the substance is insoluble to the solvent.
How Is Salt Soluble In Water?
Salt is a polar substance. When it is added to water, it dissociates
into composite positive and negative ions. Let's take the common table
salt: NaCl.
When sodium chloride is added to water, it forms two ions: Sodium cations (Na+) and chloride anions (Cl-).
Now let's look at water. Oxygen is a highly electronegative substance while hydrogen is positive. Water therefore forms a dipole. The hydrogen end of water acts like a positive end while the oxygen end is negative.
When salt is added to water, it dissociates into positive and negative ions (as we have seen above). The positive ions are attracted towards the negative end of the water molecules while the negative ions are attracted towards the positive hydrogen ends of water molecules (remember, opposites attract?). Anyway, these then develop weak Van der Waal forces. In this way the salt becomes incorporated into the water and we say that it has dissolved.
into composite positive and negative ions. Let's take the common table
salt: NaCl.
When sodium chloride is added to water, it forms two ions: Sodium cations (Na+) and chloride anions (Cl-).
Now let's look at water. Oxygen is a highly electronegative substance while hydrogen is positive. Water therefore forms a dipole. The hydrogen end of water acts like a positive end while the oxygen end is negative.
When salt is added to water, it dissociates into positive and negative ions (as we have seen above). The positive ions are attracted towards the negative end of the water molecules while the negative ions are attracted towards the positive hydrogen ends of water molecules (remember, opposites attract?). Anyway, these then develop weak Van der Waal forces. In this way the salt becomes incorporated into the water and we say that it has dissolved.