Question

4. ***Which of the following particles represents an ion?

Answer 1

Hey there!

An ion is any atom with an electric charge. This can be negative or positive.

To see which one of these is an ion, first see what causes an electric charge. Positive charges are caused by protons. One proton = one positive. Negative charges are caused by electrons. One electron = one negative. Thus, when the number of protons and electrons are equal, this makes it so there is no overall charge. Thus, to make an ion, the number of protons and electrons must be unequal.

When we look at the answer choice, we can see that the number of protons and electrons are equal for every single choice except for choice b. Thus, your answer is b.

Hope this helps!