Final answer:
Salt bonds are broken by water due to the dissociation of ions in the polar environment of water, while disulfide bonds require changes in pH for disruption because they are stronger covalent bonds.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to how different types of bonds in substances can be broken down by various agents such as water and changes in pH. Salt bonds are disrupted by water because when ionic compounds like table salt (NaCl) are added to water, the individual sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions react with the polar regions of the water molecules and dissociate.
This dissociative process is due to the polar nature of water which interacts with the ionic compounds, disrupting their ionic bonds. Conversely, disulfide bonds, which are covalent, require changes in pH to break because they are much stronger bonds compared to ionic salt bonds.
It's also important to understand that salt solutions can have different pH levels. This occurs due to a process called hydrolysis, where the ions from a dissolved salt react with water molecules, potentially creating a solution that is slightly acidic or basic. The resulting pH of a salt solution depends on the strength of the original acid and base that formed the salt. For example, a salt derived from a strong acid and a weak base would produce a solution with a slightly acidic pH, while one derived from a strong base and a weak acid would result in a slightly basic pH.