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Nov 05

Why salt water tastes salty….

Thank you, Joshua, for asking the question in class last week regarding why salt water still tastes salty if the Na and Cl ions are separated when dissolved in water.  Here’s the answer:  Salty things taste salty because they are dissolved by the saliva in our mouth; thus if they did not separate into separate Na and Cl ions, we would not have the same taste sensation of saltiness.  If, somehow, we could taste dry salt and it would not get wet in our mouth, we would not experience the taste of saltiness as we do since the Na and Cl ions would not separate, therefore salt would not taste salty!!