Question

Potassium is a double salt. Explain this statement using the chemical formula of the alum?

Answer 1

Well, potassium itself isn't a double salt, but alum is instead.

Explanation:

Alum generally refers to potassium alum, and has a chemical formula of:

`KAl(SO_4)_2*12H_2O`

This is a double salt, because it will dissociate into `K^+` ions, `Al^(3+)` ions, and two sulfate `(SO_4^(2-))` ions in an aqueous solution, while attracting some water molecules in the process.