Final answer:
Sodium chloride (NaCl) has different properties than its constituent elements, sodium and chlorine, with sodium being highly reactive and chlorine being toxic, while NaCl is stable and essential for life.
Step-by-step explanation:
The properties of sodium chloride (NaCl) are indeed different from the properties of the elements sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl). Elemental sodium is a highly reactive metal that vigorously reacts with water and must be stored away from air to prevent reactions, while chlorine is a toxic gas that is corrosive to metals and harmful to living tissues. However, when these two elements react, they form NaCl, commonly known as table salt, which is an essential compound for life and is characterized by its stability and solubility in water rather than reactivity or toxicity.
During the formation of sodium chloride, sodium atoms lose an electron to form sodium ions and chlorine atoms gain an electron to form chloride ions. This transfer of electrons leads to a stable ionic bond forming a binary ionic compound. The transformation from reactive elements to a stable compound exemplifies how the properties of the compounds are usually altogether different from the properties of the constituent elements, a fundamental principle in chemistry.