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Stefan V. · Media Owl
Mar 27, 2015

A solution made by dissolving pure table salt in water will be neutral, which implies a pH equal to 7.

Table salt is the common name of sodium chloride, or #NaCl#, which is an ionic compound formed by sodium cations, #Na^(+)#, and chloride anions, #Cl^(-)#.

http://www2.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookCHEM1.html

When it dissolves in water, the ions it forms do not affect the concentration of hydronium ions, which is what dictates a solution's pH.

The concentrations of #H^(+)# or #OH^(-)# are not changed by the ions that make up table salt.

The ions interact with the water molecules by way of electrostatic attraction

http://www.chemistryland.com/CHM107/Water/WaterTutorial.htm

So, if you add pure table salt to water, the pH of the resulting solution will not be different from that of water, i.e. it will remain neutral

#pH_("table salt solution") = 7#

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