Question

Magnesium has 12 protons. What charge do you expect it to have when it ionizes? Why?

Answer 1

Answer: This element has +2 charge on it.

Explanation:

An ion is formed when an atom looses or gains electrons.

• When an atom looses electrons, it leads to the formation of positive ion known as cation.
• When an atom gains electrons, it leads to the formation of negative ion known as anion.

Magnesium is the 12th element of the periodic table having electronic configuration of $1s^22s^22p^63s^2$

This element will loose 2 electrons to attain stable electronic configuration and leads to the formation of a cation having formula $Mg^{2+}$

Hence, this element has +2 charge on it.