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But it’s possible for carbon and silicon to form a C 4- / Si 4- ions, and all of that family’s elements can form +4 ions. The elements in the carbon family aren’t listed as +4 or -4 charged ions, because they are more likely to form covalent bonds instead of being ions.For example, iron can form Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions, depending on the situation. The transition metal elements (middle section of the table) don’t have the same type of predictable charge patterns, and most of them are capable of forming more than one type of ion.
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But at least we can say that it’s capable of forming a P 3- ion to fit the pattern shown in the chart. For example, phosphorus is actually more likely to be found with a positive charge in a compound with oxygen. These elements don’t always follow such this pattern.(The numbers at the top of the columns show what charge that family’s elements sometimes have as ions.) Halogens have 7 valence electrons, and they gain one more electron, filling their valence shells to form ions with -1 charge.Alkaline earths have two valence electrons, which they lose to form ions with +2 charge.Alkali metals all have one valence electron, which they lose to form ions with +1 charge.(Disclosure: there are many exceptions to this behavior)Įxamples (see Element Families notes if needed):
#Periodic table with charges of ions full
Metals tend to lose all of their valence electrons, and nonmetals tend to gain enough electrons to get to 8 valence electrons for a full shell. You can use a Periodic Table to find the charge that an element is likely to have as an ion.Įlements’ position on the table tells you their valence electrons, and that determines what charge would give them full valence shells as as ions.
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