Is sodium chloride an element, a mixture or a compound?

Sodium chloride is a compound. It is composed of sodium ions and chloride ions bonded together in an ionic structure. Electrical charges between the positively charged sodium ions and the negatively charged chloride ions hold the structure together.

At room temperature, sodium chloride is a white crystalline solid. The strong ionic bonds within this compound mean that a lot of energy must be applied to sodium chloride to break the bonds and melt the solid. The melting point of sodium chloride is 801 degrees Celsius. The structure of sodium chloride is octahedral; each sodium ion is bonded to six chloride ions, and each chloride ion is bonded to six sodium ions.