I need chemistry help!?
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When an atom is not neutral, what is the term used to describe it?
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Answer:
when an atom has no charge or is neutral it means that it has less than 7 valence electrons
when an atom gains a charge, it becomes an ion because it gains or loses the amount of electrons it needs to become stable
for example, potassium, "K", loses 1 electron to become stable, there for the "K" becomes a K with a positive charge
when an atom loses one electron it becomes an ion with a positive charge, when it gains one, it gets a negative charge
ion is another word for charged particle
metals lose electrons to become stable, while nonmetals gain electrons to become stable
An atom is neutral when the negative charge of the electrons exactly equal the positive charge of the protons. When an atom is charged it is called an ion.
When an atom as the same numbers of protons and electrons the atom is neutral. Since each proton has a charge of 1+ and each electron has a charge of 1-. So if there are the same number of protons and electrons the charges cancel eachother out. When an atom is not neutral the atom is discribed as an ion. Positive ions are cations negative are anions.
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