What is the cation and anion symbol of Na3PO4?
Cation is the + and anion is the negative.
Cation is Na^+. Cation is [PO4]^3-
To determine the cation and anion symbols of a compound, you need to understand the chemical formula and the properties of the elements involved. In the compound Na3PO4, "Na" represents the element sodium, and "PO4" represents the polyatomic ion called phosphate.
First, let's identify the cation and the anion in Na3PO4. The cation is a positively charged ion, while the anion is a negatively charged ion. In this case, Na3PO4 consists of three sodium ions (Na+) and one phosphate ion (PO4^3-).
The cation symbol can be derived directly from the elemental symbol for sodium (Na). Therefore, the cation symbol for Na3PO4 is Na+.
The anion symbol, on the other hand, is determined by examining the phosphate polyatomic ion (PO4^3-). It consists of one phosphorus atom (P) and four oxygen atoms (O). The phosphate ion symbol is derived from the elemental symbols involved, so the anion symbol for Na3PO4 is PO4^3-.
Therefore, the cation and anion symbols for Na3PO4 are Na+ and PO4^3-, respectively.