Answer:
The ability to conduct electricity in the solid state is a characteristic of metallic bonding. This characteristic is best explained by the presence of cations
Step-by-step explanation:
First of all we should know what are the valence electrons. These are the ones that are involved in the formation of chemical bonds (for representative elements, blocks s and p)
A cation is an atom which has lost an electron (+ charge).
The metalic atoms lose all the valence electrons, as these atoms remain charged, that is why they are capable of conducting electricity.
For example:
K (s) → K⁺ + 1e⁻
In the opposite side, the anions are formed when the non metallic elements win electrons to complete the octet rule.