Cations and anians of 1to30 elements
Answers
Answer:
The main differences between cations and anions are summarized in the table below.
Cation
Anion
Charge
Positive
Negative
Electrode attracted to
Cathode (negative)
Anode (positive)
Formed by
Metal atoms
Non-metal atoms
Examples
Sodium (Na+), Iron (Fe2+), Ammonium (NH4+)
Chloride (Cl-), Bromide (Br-), Sulfate (SO42-)
Metallic atoms hold some of their electrons relatively loosely. Consequently, they tend to lose electrons and form cations. Conversely, most nonmetallic atoms attract electrons more strongly than metallic atoms, and so gain electrons to form anions. Therefore, when atoms from a metallic and a nonmetallic element combine, the nonmetallic atoms tend to draw one or more electrons away from the metallic atoms to form ions. These oppositely charged ions then attract one other to form ionic bonds and produce ionic compounds with no overall net charge. Examples include calcium chloride (CaCl2), potassium iodide (KI) and magnesium oxide (MgO).