Why does salt melt ice?

Answer 1

Yesss!!
Two things happen when ice and water are placed in contact:

Molecules on the surface of the ice escape into the water (melting), and
molecules of water are captured on the surface of the ice (freezing).
When the rate of freezing is the same as the rate of melting, the amount of ice and the amount of water won't change on average (although there are short-term fluctuations at the surface of the ice). The ice and water are said to be in dynamic equilibrium with each other. The balance between freezing and melting can be maintained at 0°C, the melting point of water, unless conditions change in a way that favors one of the processes over the other.

The balance between freezing and melting processes can easily be upset. If the ice/water mixture is cooled, the molecules move slower. The slower-moving molecules are more easily captured by the ice, and freezing occurs at a greater rate than melting.

Conversely, heating the mixture makes the molecules move faster on average, and melting is favored.
Adding salt to the system will also disrupt the equilibrium. Consider replacing some of the water molecules with molecules of some other substance. The foreign molecules dissolve in the water, but do not pack easily into the array of molecules in the solid. The rate of melting is unchanged by the presence of the foreign material, so melting occurs faster than freezing.

That's why salt melts ice.

Answer 2

If the question were "ought to I have a administration" extremely of "might want to I have" for the former the answer will be no, for the latter, probably definite. if you're only comparing the salts to one yet another, you do not extremely choose a administration, besides the indisputable fact that it does not damage to have a dice with out salt, it should be person-friendly sufficient to do and would supply some extra files that can help. for instance (with made up numbers), if potassium chloride melted an ice dice in 12 minutes and sodium chloride in 14 minutes, then you extremely understand the KCl replaced into swifter than NaCl, the actual incontrovertible truth that a dice with out salt took, lets say 20 minutes, makes no massive difference to no matter if KCl or NaCl is swifter, yet nonetheless, having a administration to study with would not damage, and for a technological knowledge straightforward it makes the try seem extra finished.

Answer 3

Salt will make the ice impure. Impurity lowers the melting point of the ice, making the ice to melt faster.

Answer 4

Salt is a highly polar molecule made up of ionic bonds between Sodium (Na+) and Chlorine (Cl-)

Water is a polar molecule made up of Hydrogen (H+) and Oxygen (O-).

As long as the salt is kept separate, the ionic bonds hold it together at one Sodium and one Chlorine locked in place to each other because of the pattern in which they share electrons.

When you dump salt onto ice, the polarity of the water molecules interacting with the polarity of the salt molecules causes them to rip each other apart.

The ice is no longer pure water because the Hydrogen is attracted to the Chlorine, and the Soduim is attracted to the Oxygen.

The solution is part water and part ionic compounds (sorry I don't know all the names, I am new at this subject but do my best to study up and get my facts right), and part individual ions bouncing around after being torn from their original molecules.

This alters the freezing temperature of the solution since it is no longer pure water, and the "ice" melts.

That is how it was explained to me.

Answer 5

Salt melts ice because a solution of salt in water has a lower freezing point than pure water. So at temperatures slightly below freezing, the addition of salt results in the ice being above its new freezing temperature, so it melts. However, if it is very far below freezing, then the salt solution will still be below its freezing temperature, and will remain frozen. As an example, seawater freezes at -1.8 Celcius, instead of pure water's 0 Celcius.

Answer 6

Impurities in water do two things..1) Raise the boiling point so that the water has to be heated to above 100C to boil.
2) Lowers the freezing point so you have to cool the water to below 0C for it to freeze. This is why seawater does n't freeze until well below 0C but it will eventually..look at the Arctic.

Answer 7

it keeps the water molecules from bonding and therefore the ice melts

Answer 8

it lowers the freezing point of water. at sea level water freezes at zero degrees celsius. lower freezing point means the water can't freeze at normal freezing point. atmospheric pressure and a whole list of other things can have different effects on the freezing process. but in general salt lowers the freezing point of water.

Answer 9

Salt is in equilibrium with water. The more soluble it is the quicker it dissociates the cristals, I believe.