Why does sodium chloride dissolve in water? Is not the dissolution of salt in water endothermic?

Question

Why does sodium chloride dissolve in water?  Is not the dissolution of salt in water endothermic?

Owen Ambrose · Accepted Answer

........because God wanted it that way.......

The dissolution of sodium chloride in water is SLIGHTLY endothermic........i.e. #NaCl(s) + Deltastackrel(H_2O)rarrNa^(+) + Cl^-# But on the other hand, even tho' each ionic particle is solvated by several water molecules, the entropy of the reaction is positive.....in that the highly ordered crystalline #NaCl# lattice is broken up to give the solvated ions which have a greater statistical probability for disorder, a greater #"entropy"#.... Given that #DeltaG^@=DeltaH^@-TDeltaS^@#, and #DeltaG^@# is the single, unequivocal criterion for the spontaneity of chemical change.......... .....the increase in entropy can account for the #+DeltaH^@#, and the given reaction is spontaneous........i.e. #DeltaG^@<0#........

Noah Aldrich · Answer

undefined Sodium chloride dissolves in water due to the attraction between the positive sodium ions and the negative chloride ions with the polar water molecules. This attraction overcomes the ionic bonds holding the salt together. The dissolution process is actually exothermic, meaning it releases heat energy rather than absorbing it.