In a chemical reaction, the element 13al will most preferably ________. in a chemical reaction, the element 13al will most prefe
rably ________. gain three electrons and become positively charged lose five electrons and become positively charged lose three electrons and become positively charged gain five electrons and become negatively charged
Let us calculate the structure of the electric shells of the Al atom. It has an atomic number of 13, so it has 13 electrons. The first 2 go to the first hell. The next 8 need to go to the second shell and the last 3 ones would go to the outermost shell. The outer shell, that is the most important one for chemical reactions, has thus 3 electrons. An atom always tries to have a completed outer shell (with either 2 or 8 atoms). It is easier for a cell to have a charge of +3 than a charge of -5 (smaller absolute value) and thus the Aluminum atom will try to get rid of the 3 electrons. In this process, it loses negative charge thus it will become positively charged. Hence, the correct answer is that it will prefer to lose 3 electrons and become positively charged.
