A magnesium atom that loses two electrons becomes a
(1) positive ion with a smaller radius
(2) negative ion with a smaller radius
(3) positive ion with a larger radius
(4) negative ion with a larger radius
Answer and Explanation:
To answer this question we first must think what charge an electron has. Electrons are negatively charged. Therefore, losing two electrons will make magnesium a positively charged ion. You can also see this in the periodic table by looking at charge of magnesium at the top right corner (+2).
A radius tells us how large an atom is. The more electrons there are, the bigger an atom is. Therefore, less electrons will decrease the radius of the of the atom, making choice (1) the correct answer: positive ion with a smaller radius