Aqueous NaCl (aq) & Liquid vs. Aqueous States

[Tam Le]

What are we referring to when we denote, say, NaCl (aq)?

Are we referring to the dissolved NaCl (Na+ and Cl-)? Are we speaking of the solution as a whole (the dissolved NaCl and water)?

Also, how does the liquid state differ from an aqueous?

 

[jedishrfu]

The aqueous part means the salt is dissolved in water. Water separates the salt into ions of Na+ and Cl-.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chloride

 

[Borek]

(aq) means water is definitely present. Whether it matters or not for a particular case is another question.

 

[Tam Le]

So, NaCl (aq) would imply Na+ and Cl- ions, plus water if it is relevant to the reaction at hand?

 

[Borek]

Yes.