Question

How are chloride ions present in a solution identified? (2 marks)

Answer 1

Identification of chloride ions:

• The chloride ions present in a solution can be identified by silver nitrate test. (0.5 mark)
• When silver nitrate solution is added to an aqueous solution that contains chloride ions, a white precipitate of silver chloride will be formed. (1 mark)

The reaction involved in identification of chloride ions is as follows:

$\mathrm{NaCl}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+{\mathrm{AgNO}}_3\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)\to {\mathrm{NaNO}}_3\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+\mathrm{AgCl}\left(s\right)$
(0.5 mark)