Question

Sodium is an atom represented as na+. what does the "+" represent?

Answer 1

The '+' in Na+ represents a positive charge which indicates that the sodium atom has lost one electron and has become a sodium cation with more protons than electrons.

Step-by-step explanation:

The "+" in a sodium atom represented as Na+ signifies that the atom has lost an electron and, therefore, has a net positive charge. In its neutral state, a sodium atom has 11 protons and 11 electrons, giving it no overall charge. However, when a sodium atom loses an electron, as in the case of the sodium cation (Na+), it then has one more proton (11) than electrons (10), resulting in an overall positive charge, which is indicated by the plus sign. This positively charged sodium is referred to as a sodium cation.

Sodium cations are common in many chemical reactions and play significant roles in biological systems, such as in nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction. The propensity for sodium to lose an electron and form a Na+ cation is due to the energy consideration that it's easier for sodium to lose one electron from its outermost shell than to gain seven more in order to fill it.

Answer 2

sodium - Na is a neutral atom with 11 protons and 11 electrons.
protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged. Since the number of protons and electrons are equal, there are equal amounts of both positive and negative charges therefore they cancel out giving Na an overall neutral charge.
Na has 1 electron in the outermost energy shell, to become stable and to gain a noble gas configuration it loses the electron in its outermost shell.
Once it loses its electron, there are 11 protons and 10 electrons, having an overall positive charge of +1. Once atoms lose or gain electrons they become ions, since Na loses electrons its called a cation.

So in Na⁺, +1 stands for the net charge of the ion which is +1 or in other words Na has just lost one electron therefore is +1 positively charged