What is the octet rule?

How does the rule explain the common ion of fluorine and of calcium?

The octet rule is when an element contains 8 valence electrons.
The rule explains the common ions of fluorine and calcium to show how much is needed to gain/lose electrons to get that perfect 8. For example, fluorine needs toga an electron thus becoming a F^-1 while calcium needs to lose 2,b becoming Ca^-2.

If Ca metal loses 2e it becomes Ca^2+.

The octet rule is a guideline in chemistry that states that during chemical reactions, atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons in order to achieve a stable electron configuration with 8 valence electrons.

To understand how the octet rule explains the common ions of fluorine and calcium, let's start with fluorine. Fluorine is in Group 17 of the periodic table, which means it has 7 valence electrons. In order to achieve a stable octet, fluorine only needs to gain 1 more electron. Since gaining electrons results in a negative charge, fluorine forms a common ion called fluoride with a charge of -1, denoted as F^-1.

Moving on to calcium, it is in Group 2 of the periodic table, which means it has 2 valence electrons. To achieve a stable octet, calcium needs to lose its 2 valence electrons. Losing electrons results in a positive charge, so calcium forms a common ion called calcium ion with a charge of +2, denoted as Ca^+2.

In summary, the octet rule explains that fluorine tends to gain 1 electron to achieve a stable octet, resulting in the fluoride ion (F^-1). On the other hand, calcium tends to lose 2 electrons to achieve a stable octet, resulting in the calcium ion (Ca^+2).