Cation vs. Anion

[Vivian Le 1G]

How can we tell what part of a salt is a cation vs. anion? Then from there, determine if that cation/anion is a strong/weak acid/base?

[Daphne Chan 1F]

I believe salts can typically be broken up into cations and anions - for example, HCl can broken down into H+ (cation) and Cl- (anion). From there, the textbook (6D.3) mentions ways you can determine whether a salt is acidic or basic by checking the properties of the cation and anion and combining the properties to see whether the salt is more acidic or basic.

[406003397]

To identify the cation and anion parts of a salt, look at the formula: the cation is usually listed first and is positively charged, while the anion comes second and is negatively charged. To determine if they are from strong or weak acids/bases, refer to common lists; strong acids and bases dissociate completely in water, while weak ones do not.