Experimental determination of the density of NaCl: a practical work to apply previously acquired concepts on crystalline systems and crystal properties

Abstract

The aim of this work is the application of an experimental activity that employs a different strategy in order to get a deeper insight in the study of the properties of ionic substances and their crystals. In the present article the following experimental activities are proposed: a simple method to obtain monocrystals of NaCl prepared from culinary salt, the use of Archimedes' principle with the purpose of the determination of its density and the use of the cell parameters of the cubic crystalline system of NaCl and related salts to calculate their densities.