Which of the following explain how an ion is formed? Explain your answer. a. adding or subtracting protons to/from an atom b. adding or subtracting neutrons to/from an atom c. adding or subtracting electrons to/from an atom

Short Answer

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An ion is formed by adding or subtracting electrons to/from an atom. This is because changing the number of electrons directly impacts the atom's electrical charge, resulting in either a positively charged cation (electron loss) or a negatively charged anion (electron gain). Options a and b, involving changes in protons or neutrons, do not result in ions.

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01

Option a: adding or subtracting protons to/from an atom

Changing the number of protons in an atom would result in a completely different element, as the atomic number (number of protons) defines an element. Therefore, adding or subtracting protons to/from an atom does not form an ion.
02

Option b: adding or subtracting neutrons to/from an atom

Changing the number of neutrons in an atom results in the formation of isotopes, which are atoms of the same element with different mass numbers due to the varying number of neutrons. Isotopes still have the same charge as the original atom since the number of electrons and protons remains the same. Therefore, adding or subtracting neutrons to/from an atom does not form an ion.
03

Option c: adding or subtracting electrons to/from an atom

Changing the number of electrons in an atom directly impacts the atom's electrical charge. Losing an electron will result in a positively charged ion, called a cation, and gaining an electron will result in a negatively charged ion, called an anion. This process of adding or subtracting electrons to/from an atom leads to the formation of ions. Based on the analysis above, the correct answer is: c. adding or subtracting electrons to/from an atom

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