• Question: what is an ion?

    Asked by theflash to Giuditta on 12 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Giuditta Perversi

      Giuditta Perversi answered on 12 Nov 2015:

      An ion is what we call an atom with a different number of electrons in comparison to what it’s supposed to have.
      If you take an electron away, you call what you get a “cation”. Calcium (Ca) has a total of two electrons “available”. If you take them away, you get a calcium cation (Ca 2+).
      If you add an electron, you call what you get an “anion”. If you add two electrons to an oxygen you get an oxygen anion (O 2-).

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