PPT Slide

• Ionic compounds contain equal numbers of positive and  negative charges.

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• Thus, ionic compounds are neutral; i.e., they have zero net  charge.

• A grain of table salt consists of an enormous number of Na+  ions and an equal number of Clñ ions.

How can we predict the number of electrons an atom will lose or gain when it forms an ion?

• In ionic compound formation, metals lose electrons and  nonmetals gain electrons.

• Usually ions with the same number of electrons as in the  nearest noble gas [Group 8A(18)] are formed.

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