magnesium aren't bases, yet they're producing salts. According to the definition of a salt from the book, the cation must come from a base. The cations here come from metals. Is that an incomplete definition of "salt" or is there a theoretical base out there that generally produces MgCl2 and ZnBr2?
States of Matter
The substance that constitutes everything in the universe is known as matter. Matter comprises atoms which in turn are composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Different atoms combine together to give rise to molecules that act as a foundation for all kinds of substances. There are five states of matter based on their energies of attraction, namely solid, liquid, gases, plasma, and BEC (Bose-Einstein condensates).
Chemical Reactions and Equations
When a chemical species is transformed into another chemical species it is said to have undergone a chemical reaction. It consists of breaking existing bonds and forming new bonds by changing the position of electrons. These reactions are best explained using a chemical equation.
My book says in the glossary for the definition of salt that it is "Any ionic compound whose cation comes from a base and whose anion comes from an acid." That's their definition of "salt."
Then it has this equation in the middle of the text:
Zn+2HBr --> ZnBr2 + H2
Then it says, "Many metals undergo displacement reactions with acids, producing salts and hydrogen gas." Then it gives another example of magnesium and hydrochloric acid forming H2 and MgCl2.
I'm confused, because zinc and magnesium aren't bases, yet they're producing salts. According to the definition of a salt from the book, the cation must come from a base. The cations here come from metals. Is that an incomplete definition of "salt" or is there a theoretical base out there that generally produces MgCl2 and ZnBr2?
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
