Question

the formation of an ionic bond involves the

Answer 1

Do you know what is the difference between and ion and and atom?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionic_bonding

The important point is that an ion is missing or has an extra electron. So if positive ion that is missing an electron comes into contact with an ion that has an extra electron, they want to form a bond because positive attracts negative.