Hi,
1.
I was asked "how do I know a chemical is a salt?". I replied "a salt is formed by the reaction of an acid with a base". The reply to my reply was "OK, but if I am given a compound such as copper(II)sulphate or ammonium hydroxide or copper oxide or magnesium oxide or whatever, can I apply a general rule to determine which are salts and which are not?"
That left me a bit stumped because I thought one would have to think up a suitable acid-base pairing to create the salt. And what if I can't think of a pairing but it does exist?
2.
NaHSO4 is an acidic salt because it can donate protons in solution. Correct?
3.
Although CaCO3 is insoluble in water, if we add acid say hydrochloric, then because carbon dioxide and water are generated and calcium chloride is formed in solution, and calcium chloride is a salt (ha, ha!) then we can say CaCO3 is a basic salt. Is this right??
Ta, Clive