When silver nitrate (AgNO3) is mixed with salt water (NaCl solution), a chemical reaction takes place, resulting in the formation of a white precipitate of silver chloride (AgCl) and sodium nitrate (NaNO3) in the solution. The reaction can be represented as follows:

AgNO3 (aq) + NaCl (aq) → AgCl (s) + NaNO3 (aq)

In this reaction, the silver ions (Ag+) from silver nitrate combine with the chloride ions (Cl-) from sodium chloride to form insoluble silver chloride. The sodium ions (Na+) and nitrate ions (NO3-) remain in the solution as sodium nitrate.

The formation of the white precipitate of silver chloride is a characteristic reaction of silver nitrate and can be used as a qualitative test for the presence of chloride ions in a solution. This reaction is also used in various analytical and industrial applications, such as in photography and the production of silver compounds.