What happens to items that have a lower density than water are submerged in water

Those items float.

Because the items are less dense than water, they float. If they are more dense than water, they sink.

nacl or sodium chloride is an ionic compound. this is because an ionic compound pertains to a compound that consists of positively and negatively charged ions. in this case, na (sodium) has a tendency to lose one electron when it reacts with with other atoms, so the resulting sodium ion contains 11 protons and 10 electrons, thus making it positively charged (na+), when chlorine reacts, it usually gains one electron to form an ion called chloride, thus making it negatively charged ( since the ions are oppositely charged, they attract.