Salts are made up of two “parts” a positive ion (usually a metal ion) and a negative ion (almost always a non-metal or small cluster of non-metals)
You need to be able to test for the following cations at GCSE:
- lithium
Li+ - sodium
Na+ - potassium
K+ - barium
Ba2+ - Aluminium
Al3+ - calcium
Ca2+ - Magnesium
Mg2+ - Copper(II)
Cu2+ - iron(II)
Fe2+ - Iron(III)
Fe3+
and the following anions
- Carbonates
CO32- - Halide ions
X–- Chloride
Cl– - Bromide
Br– - Iodide
I–
- Chloride
- Sulfate ions
SO42-
You may find useful information in the analytical chemistry section of chemstuff