Question

Why are very few 2+ ions formed in a mass spectrometer?

Answer 1

A mass spectrometer measures the masses of different substances in molecular form by ionizing them. The molecules are identified by observing their movement in electric and magnetic fields. Most of the ions formed carry a charge of +1. This is because it takes a tremendous amount of energy to remove an electron from an atom that is already positive; the remaining electrons are more tightly held in orbit.