Question

What ion will be formed by the selenium atom shown below when it has a stable set of valence electrons?

Selenium atom
A. Se6+
B. Se2+
C. Se6−
D. Se2−

@inkyvoyd

Answer 1

selenium is in group 16 which means it has 6 valence electrons...

Answer 2

so its C?

Answer 3

no

Answer 4

it's definitely not c

Answer 5

is it easier to lose 6 electrons or to gain 2 electrons?

Answer 6

wait.. i dont get it

Answer 7

ohhhh ok

Answer 8

i'll lead you through this, but you can't jump to conclusions

Answer 9

alright.

Answer 10

electrons means negative subatomic particles. so isnt the answer between c and d?

Answer 11

okay. an atom can either lose or gain electrons. an atom always wants to get 8 valence electrons. this atom is in group 16 which means it has 6 valence electrons

so it wants to get to 8 valence electrons
it can either lose 6 or gain 2. What is going to happen?

Answer 12

its going to gain 2 because its easier?

Answer 13

yes. if you gain 2 electrons what does that mean in terms of charge? Remember that a normal atom has a neutral charge of 0.

Answer 14

arg. i dont know. the charge increases?

Answer 15

No. You were right. electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles (charge is -1). You had a neutral atom to start with, and all of a sudden you have 2 of these negative electrons. What is the charge?

Answer 16

ok so the charge decreases to 6?

Answer 17

No. you started with zero (neutral atom). You gained 2 electrons. 1 electron holds -1 charge. What does that mean?

Answer 18

ummm
means that the charge is -2?

Answer 19

correcto.

Answer 20

so the answer is D.

Answer 21

i'll leave that for you to figure out

Answer 22

alright. thank you for the help :)

Answer 23

:)