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Bases may be considered as salts with the hydroxyl group, OH, replacing the acid radical.

The acid radical has travelled twice as fast as the metal.

The form of these artificial pseudo-organic elements depends principally on the nature of the acid radical of the solid salt.

As we have already seen, a salt is formed by the union of a metal M with an acid radical R. Potassium sulphate, K2SO4, consists of the metal K2 and the acid radical SO4.

Ammonium chloride, NH4Cl, consists of the basic radical NH4 and the acid radical Cl.