Sunday, 31 January 2016

What is an Ion?

During a chemical reaction, the atoms of an element may gain or lose electrons to form changed particles called ions.

An ion is an electrically charged particle fromed  when an atom gains or loses electron(s).

If an atom loses electrons, it will form a positively charged ion because it now has more protons (positively charged particles) then electrons (negatively charged particles).

For example, when a sodium atom loses an electron, it becomes a sodium ion with a symbol, Na+. The superscript (+) in the symbol shows that the ion is a positive ion and has one more proton than electrons.



If an atom gains electrons it will form a negative ion because now it has more electrons than protons. Thus, it becomes negatively charged.

For example, when a chlorine atom gains an electron it becomes a chloride ion with the symbol Cl-. The superscript (-) in the symbol shows that the ion is a negative ion and has one more electron than protons.



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