Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #238 Electrons in Ions

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #238

Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #238

Which of the following ions has the most electrons? If there is a tie for first, list them all.

A. K+ (potassium)
B. Na+ (sodium)
C. Ca++ (calcium)
D. Cl- (chloride)

Good luck!









































.

 

[zsuzsu]

here we go again

 

[zsuzsu]

hmm ... which of these are the heaviest... hold your tickets please.... waiting....

 

[zsuzsu]

c

 

[cracker]

I say C

 

[SDchris]

A, C, & D

 

[SDReefer]

A, C, and D. They all have 18 electrons.

 

[rkpetersen]

A. C. D. Calcium, Potassium, Chlorine.

Also Argon.

 

[MnFish1]

here we go again

Ca2+ has 18
K+ has 18
Cl- has 18
Na+ has 10

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

And the answer is...

Which of the following ions has the most electrons? If there is a tie for first, list them all.

A. K+ (potassium)

C. Ca++ (calcium)
D. Cl- (chloride)


The potassium atom starts with 19 electrons and loses one to make a positive charge, for a total of 18.

The sodium atom starts with 11 electrons and loses one to make a positive charge, for a total of 10.

The calcium atom starts with 20 electrons and loses two to make a double positive charge, for a total of 18.

The chloride atom starts with 17 electrons and gains one to make a negative charge, for a total of 18.

The magic numbers of total electrons for many stable ions is 0, 2, 10, 18, 36, and 54. Those configurations can lead to electron configurations similar to the nearly inert noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, etc.).

Happy reefing.