Question\begin{align*}
\text{A potassium atom } & \square \text{ to form a } \square \text{ ion.} \\
\text{A sulfur atom } & \square \\
& \square \text{ to form a } \square \text{ ion.}
\end{align*}
\text{For the first statement, the options for the first blank are: gains 1/2/3 or loses 1/2/3.} \\
\text{The options for the second blank are: neutrons/electrons/protons.} \\
\text{The third blank is a value from 0 to +8.}
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking?
This problem wants us to figure out how many electrons potassium and sulfur gain or lose to become ions, and what their charges will be!
Watch out!
Don't mix up metals and nonmetals!
Metals like to lose electrons, while nonmetals like to gain them.
STEP 2
1. Potassium's Charge
2. Sulfur's Charge
STEP 3
Potassium () is in group 1 of the periodic table.
This tells us something super important: it has **1** valence electron!
STEP 4
Atoms want to have a full outer electron shell.
For potassium, it's way easier to *lose* that one valence electron than to gain seven more.
So, potassium **loses 1 electron**.
STEP 5
When an atom loses an electron, it becomes positively charged.
Since potassium loses **1** electron, it gets a charge of **+1**.
We write this as .
STEP 6
Sulfur () is in group 16 of the periodic table.
That means it has **6** valence electrons!
STEP 7
Sulfur is closer to having a full outer shell than potassium.
It only needs **2** more electrons to get to 8 (a nice, full shell).
So, sulfur **gains 2 electrons**.
STEP 8
When an atom gains electrons, it becomes negatively charged.
Since sulfur gains **2** electrons, it gets a charge of **-2**.
We write this as .
STEP 9
A potassium atom **loses 1** electron to form a **+1** ion.
A sulfur atom **gains 2** electrons to form a **-2** ion.
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