Why can ammonium sulfate be described as a salt?

A salt is an ionic compound which is made up of two groups of oppositely charged ions.
The overall compound of a salt compound must have an overall electrical charge of 0.
Ammonium sulfate, (NH4)2SO4, can be made by the reaction of ammonia, NH3 with sulfuric acid, H2SO4. 
Therefore, ammonium sulfate is described as a salt because the hydrogen ions, H^+, in sulfuric acid have been replaced by ammonium ions, NH4^+
And note: the charge of ammonium sulfate balance - NH4 has a +1 charge and SO4 has a 2- charge, therefore in the compund there are two lots of NH4+ [(NH4)2], to cancel out the 2- charge of the SO4 to equal 0.

CR
Answered by Chloe R. Chemistry tutor

27184 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Explain briefly the separation technique of fractional distillation, with reference to a particular example.


What flame test colours are produced by lithium and barium?


Describe the principles of how paper chromatography works


An unknown compound burns with a lilac flame and produces a yellow precipitate when mixed with dilute nitric acid and silver nitrate. Give the formula of the compound.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning