Salt Truths?

Question

Is it true that adding Salt to a pot of water will help boil it faster?

Answer 1

No. It would raise the boiling temperature, so it might take longer to reach boiling. However, you would need to add a lot of salt to make any noticeable change. If you added, say, a cup of salt to a gallon of water, it might change the boiling temp. by a couple degrees. So, the only practical reason to add salt is for flavor.

Answer 2

No, actually it will take longer. Think about this. You know how homemade ice cream is made? You take ice and you pour salt on it...AND THE ICE BECOMES COLDER THAN NORMAL ICE! (that ice and salt isn't the ice cream, by the way. The stuff that makes up what will become ice cream is in a bucket sitting inside this vat that holds the ice/salt combination) When salt dissolves, the reaction is called endothermic. That means it's using up heat to proceed. An exothermic reaction is one where heat is given off, like lighting one of those road flares.
So basically, if you have two identical pots of water, exact same amount and the exact same temperature, and you add salt to one of them, THAT one now is ever so slightly colder than the other and it will take longer to boil.

Answer 3

Yes. Salt lowers the boiling point of water as well as the freezing point of water. This is why they put salt on the roads in the mid-west. It lowers the freezing point of the water, thus melting the ice.