A sodium cation is what?
Is this a fill in the blank. What are you studying?
I have Na+ but don't think that what they mean? Chemistry.
A sodium cation is a positively charged ion of sodium (Na+). To understand what a sodium cation is, it is important to have some background knowledge about ions and sodium.
Firstly, an ion is an atom or a molecule that has gained or lost one or more electrons, resulting in a positive or negative charge. Atoms usually have an equal number of protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged), which makes them electrically neutral. However, when an atom loses one or more electrons, it becomes positively charged, forming a cation. On the other hand, if an atom gains one or more electrons, it becomes negatively charged, forming an anion.
Now, let's focus on sodium (Na). Sodium is a chemical element with the atomic number 11, meaning it has 11 protons in its nucleus. In its neutral state, sodium has 11 electrons, which balance the positive charge of the protons. However, under certain conditions, sodium can lose one electron from its outermost energy level, thereby forming a sodium cation.
The loss of one electron leaves sodium with 11 protons (still), but only 10 electrons. Since protons carry a positive charge and electrons carry a negative charge, having one extra proton than electrons results in an overall positive charge. Therefore, a sodium cation (Na+) is a sodium atom that has lost one electron, thus becoming a positively charged ion.
To summarize, a sodium cation is an ion of sodium that is positively charged because it has lost one electron.