![]() As a sodium atom loses an electron to chlorine (arrows, middle left), both turn into ions (upper and lower right). Ions are formed by atoms losing or gaining electrons (illustrated here as small, medium-green balls). It’s impossible, after all, for one atom to gain an electron unless another atom is losing one. Reduction and oxidation always take place at the same time. REDUCTION (electron gain): Cl + e – → Cl – ![]() OXIDATION (electron loss): Na → Na + + e – We can write two equations, called half equations, to show each half of that REDOX process.įor example, here they are for sodium chloride, In terms of electron transfer, reduction is defined as a gain of electrons. It’s a mashup of REDuction and OXidation. The chemical process where electrons are lost and gained is called REDOX. Any substance that produces these ions is said to be acidic. For example, they carry the charges in batteries, conducting electricity. That allows table salt to dissolve easily in water. These tiny charges attract positive and negative ions. But it does have tiny positive and negative electrical charges on its surface. The ions’ charges also attract salt to water. Salt’s ions will collect to form a giant, three-dimensional structure known as a lattice. This means that sodium chloride has a high melting and boiling point. (No number appears with the superscript when an atom gains or loses a single electron.) The ionic compound formed between sodium and chloride ions is called sodium chloride. One sodium atom (Na) gives a single electron to a chlorine atom (Cl). The most well-known example of an ionic compound is table salt. Bonded cations and anions make up ionic compounds. jack0m/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty ImagesĬhemical bonds forged by this attraction are ionic bonds. Each sodium ion (Na +) is held in place by its attraction to chloride ions (Cl –) and vice-versa, through ionic bonds. This is an artist’s depiction of the lattice structure that makes up table salt. ![]() When it forms its most common ion, oxygen gains two electrons to become the “oxide anion.” Chemists denote this by adding a 2-minus on the upper right side (O 2-). The size of that charge depends on how many electrons it gained.įor example, an oxygen atom starts with eight protons and eight electrons. Atoms that gain electrons are known as anions (AN-eye-uns). Some ions get slightly modified names when compared to their former status as an atom. Because the number of protons hasn’t changed, the atom is no longer electrically neutral. That balance makes the atoms electrically neutral.īut chemical reactions sometimes throw off that electrical balance by robbing one or more of an atom’s electrons or by getting an atom to hold one or more extra electrons. Atoms of the same element always have equal numbers of protons and electrons. Protons have a positive electrical charge. Each is made of at least two types of smaller particles: protons and electrons. Atoms are the smallest particles with distinct chemical properties.
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