What is an ion?
An ion is an atom or molecule with more or less electrons than usual, giving it a positive or negative electric charge. Because an ion “wants” to become neutral by acquiring or losing additional electrons, it has interesting chemical features. Ions usually come in the form of solutions. There are three types — anions, which are negatively charged, cations, which are positively charged, and radicals, or radical ions, which are highly reactive due to having a large amount of free electrons. An ion solution is typically created when certain molecules, such as salt, are dissolved in water. The interactions between the solute and solvent molecules disassociate weakly-bonded molecules, like salt, into two or more ions. When salt is put into water, it breaks into sodium and chloride ions, both of which are essential to human life. If a person is deprived of salt for too long, they will eventually die. Other life-essential ions (called electrolytes) are potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesi
An ion is a charged atom or molecule. It is charged because the number of electrons do not equal the number of protons in the atom or molecule. An atom can acquire a positive charge or a negative charge depending on whether the number of electrons in an atom is greater or less then the number of protons in the atom. When an atom is attracted to another atom because it has an unequal number of electrons and protons, the atom is called an ION. If the atom has more electrons than protons, it is a negative ion, or ANION. If it has more protons than electrons,it is a positive ion.
