Question

An iron ion has 23 electrons. Write the symbol and name the ion

Answer 1

Do you know the symbol for iron?

Answer 2

First look on the periodic table for iron so we can find its symbol and its atomic number.
Iron = Fe and its atomic number is 26, which means in a neutral state it has 26 electrons.

For the iron ion you need to work out, it has 23 electrons. This means that there has been 3 electrons that have been TAKEN AWAY from the neutral version of the element.

From this information we can conclude that the ion will have:
23 electrons
26 protons

This means the element has MORE protons than electrons, which means the charge will be positive (as protons have a positive charge and there are more of them than negative)

Then we just have to count how many electrons have been taken away, which is 3 electrons.
This means the iron ion has a charge and symbol of: Fe+3
The ion is called: Iron (III) or Fe (III)