In Chemistry, there are 2 types of ions: anions and cations.

Anions are negatively

charged ions. Cations are positively charged ions.
An ion is an atom or group of atoms in which the number of electron s is different from the
number of proton s. If the number of electrons is less than the number of protons, the particle is
a positive ion, also called a cation.
An ion is formed by the loss or gain of electrons by an atom, so it contains an unequal number
of electrons and protons. Example: Sodium ion Na+, magnesium ion Mg2+, chloride ion Cl–,
and oxide ion O2–. There are two types of ions : cations

Negative ions are classified by size and chemical composition. Some molecules in the air
combine to form a negative ion molecule. Generally, negative ions are floating in the air in a
group. Depending on the size of the group, they are classified into small, medium and
large ion groups.

Family Element

Sodium Sodium cation

Potassium Potassium cation

IIA Beryllium

Magnesium Magnesium cation

What do you mean by ions?

An ion is a charged atom or molecule. It is charged because the number of
electrons do not equal the number of protons in the atom or molecule. An atom can
acquire a positive charge or a negative charge depending on whether the number of
electrons in an atom is greater or less then the number of protons in the atom.
How is an ion written?
Conventions for Writing Ions
When writing the symbol for an ion, the one or two letter element symbol
is written first, followed by a superscript. The superscript has the number of charges on
the ion followed by a + (for positive ions or cations) or - (for negative ions or anions).
Are all atoms ions?
Atoms vs. Ions. Atoms are neutral; they contain the same number of protons as
electrons. By definition, an ion is an electrically charged particle produced by either
removing electrons from a neutral atom to give a positive ion or adding electrons to a
neutral atom to give a negative ion.
What is a free ion?
free ion. [¦frē ′ī‚än] (physical chemistry) An ion, such as found in an ionized gas, whose
properties, such as spectrum and magnetic moment, are not significantly affected by
other atoms, ions, or molecules nearby.
 Ions

Look at the atom shown below. It has 3 each of protons, neutrons and electrons, and
represents that element Lithium (Li). If we were to write out the name symbolically,
it would be 6Li.

Lithium Atom

Lithium has only one electron in it's outermost shell. What would happen if we were
to remove that electron?
Without its outermost electron, the lithium atom would have more positive charges
(+3) than negative charges (-2). An atom with a different number of electrons to
protons would be called an ion. Elements like lithium that loose their electrons form
positive ions. Symbolically, we can represent this as Li+1. Other elements tend to
gain electrons. Oxygen is a good example of one of these:

Oxygen Atom

Oxygen has a total of 8 electrons normally, but only 6 of these are in the outermost
shell or orbital. Elements prefer to have full outer shells. They also prefer to get to
this state as easily as possible. Above, it was easier for lithium to lose one electron
than to gain 7 electrons. Similarly, it is easier for oxygen to gain 2 electrons instead
of loosing 6 electrons:

Oxygen Ion

The two gained electrons (purple dots) means that this oxygen ion has 10 electrons (-
10 charge) and only 8 protons (+8 charge), giving the ion a net charge of -
2. Symbolically, we can represent this oxygen ion as O-2.

The Periodic Table can be used to help predict how many electrons there are in the
outermost shell, and hence what type of ion they will form. Here is the same chart
from the previous page, but with some additional information added to it:
The black numbers above represent the number of electrons in the outer shell. Notice
that each column has more electrons in the outermost shell as you go to the right, and
that the last row (headed by He or Helium) has a full outer shell. {Special
note: Helium has only 2 electrons in the outermost shell, but that is full for the
first shell.} The red numbers represent the type of ion that the atom would form,
starting with +1 ions on the left and finishing with no ions ("0") on the
right. Elements with a full outer shell do not form ions. The yellow section, labeled
"Transition Elements" are elements that tend to lose electrons from shells other than
the outermost shell and form positive ions. For example, iron (Fe) forms two different
positive ions, Fe+2 (ferrous iron) and Fe+3 (ferric iron). Understanding why there are
different ions of iron is complex and beyond the scope of this course. However, you
should be able to determine the ionic state of atoms from the other groups using a
Periodic Table.

Quick Quiz: Use the chart above to answer the following questions:

1. What ion would a Chlorine (Cl) atom form?

2. What ion would an Aluminum (Al) atom form?
3. What ion would a Magnesium (Mg) atom form?
4. What ion would a Potassium (K) atom form?

Answers:

1. Chorine is in the seventh column and therefore has 7 electrons in its outermost
shell. It would tend to gain one electron and form a -1 ion.
2. Aluminum is in the fifth column and therefore has 5 electrons in its outermost
shell. It would tend to lose three electrons and form a +3 ion.
3. Magnesium is in the second column and therefore has 2 electrons in its
outermost shell. It would tend to lose two electrons and form a +2 ion.
4. Potassium is in the first column and therefore has 1 electron in its outermost
shell. It would tend to lose one electron and form a +1 ion.

Continue and learn about bonding.

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