How does an ion stay neutral?
Ions. Atoms are neutral; they contain the same number of protons as electrons. By definition, an ion is an electrically charged particle produced by either removing electrons from a neutral atom to give a positive ion or adding electrons to a neutral atom to give a negative ion.
How do you know which ion is more stable?
Atoms are at their most stable when their outermost energy level is either empty of electrons or filled with electrons. Sodium atoms have 11 electrons. Two of these are in the lowest energy level, eight are in the second energy level and then one electron is in the third energy level.
Can an ion be excited?
This is the energy state that would be considered normal for the atom. An excited state is an energy level of an atom, ion, or molecule in which an electron is at a higher energy level than its ground state. After absorbing energy, it may jump from the ground state to a higher energy level, called an excited state.
What happens when an atom is unstable?
An unstable atom has excess internal energy, with the result that the nucleus can undergo a spontaneous change towards a more stable form. This is called ‘radioactive decay’. If it decays with emission of an alpha or beta particle, it becomes a new element.
Why are some atoms unstable?
An atom is stable if the forces among the particles that makeup the nucleus are balanced. An atom is unstable (radioactive) if these forces are unbalanced; if the nucleus has an excess of internal energy. Instability of an atom’s nucleus may result from an excess of either neutrons or protons.
How do you know if an element is stable or unstable?
Atoms found in nature are either stable or unstable. An atom is stable if the forces among the particles that makeup the nucleus are balanced. An atom is unstable (radioactive) if these forces are unbalanced; if the nucleus has an excess of internal energy.
What determines if an atom is stable or unstable?
Can an ion have a ground state?
Charge doesn’t impact whether electrons are excited or not so that is why ions have a ground state electron configuration. The ground state configuration is just the 1s2 2s2 configuration including the subtraction or addition of electrons.
What are the four quantum numbers?
In atoms, there are a total of four quantum numbers: the principal quantum number (n), the orbital angular momentum quantum number (l), the magnetic quantum number (ml), and the electron spin quantum number (ms).