Question

The following figure represents the formation of an ionic compound. Substances A and B are initially uncharged, but when mixed electrons are transferred. Using the figure, identify which substance will form the cation and which will form the anion. Provide a brief (one or two sentences) explanation for your response. (Hint: How does losing electrons affect atomic radii?)

Answer 1

This question is incomplete

Step-by-step explanation:

This question is incomplete but some general explanation provides a clear answer to what is been asked in the question.

An ionic/electrovalent compound is a compound whose constituent atoms are joined together by ionic bond. Ionic bond is a bond involving the transfer of valence electron(s) from an atom (to form a positively charged cation) to another atom (to form a negatively charged anion). The atom transferring is usually a metal while the atom receiving is usually a non-metal.

For example (as shown in the attachment), in the formation of NaCl salt, the sodium (Na) transfers the single electron (valence) on it's outermost shell to chlorine (Cl) which ordinarily has 7 electrons on it's outermost shell but becomes 8 after receiving the valence electron from sodium. It should also be noted that Na is a metal while Cl is a non-metal.