Neither. It has a stable octet in its ground state.
Atoms gain, share, or lose electrons to try and become more stable. Atoms will gain, share, or lose electrons until they have a stable 8 valence electrons in their outer shell which is called an octet, which is stated in the octet rule. See the attached links for information on the octet rule.
Chlorine will gain one electron in order to establish a full outer shell of electrons. Chlorine atoms have 7 valence electrons, but with one extra electron, it can establish a stable octet.
The octet rule.
gain 2 electrons
First, determine which family it is in on the periodic table. The group number equals the number of valence electrons that it has. It needs to end up with eight valence electrons to have a full octet. So if it has seven valence electrons, it will gain one electron to be stable. On the other end of the table, it will lose electrons to be stable.
Atoms gain, share, or lose electrons to try and become more stable. Atoms will gain, share, or lose electrons until they have a stable 8 valence electrons in their outer shell which is called an octet, which is stated in the octet rule. See the attached links for information on the octet rule.
No, metals tend to lose electrons to achieve a full octet.
It'll have to gain one to have a stable octet.
It is necessary to gain/lose electrons.
This atom must gain 3 electrons to achieve an octet.
Chlorine will gain one electron in order to establish a full outer shell of electrons. Chlorine atoms have 7 valence electrons, but with one extra electron, it can establish a stable octet.
The octet rule.
gain 2 electrons
Generally, atoms would want to fulfill the octet rule: 8 electrons in the valence shell. This gives the atom a noble gas configuration and is seen as stable. Since the Chlorine atom is in group 7 of the periodic table, it "prefers" to gain one electron instead of losing 7 to attain the stable octet configuration.
Noble gases are inert because they contain a "stable octet" of electrons in the outermost shell of the atom (valence electrons). This means that the noble gases do not need to react to lose or gain electrons in order to become stable, since scientists have determined that 8 valence electrons is a stable electron configuration.
Atoms in the oxygen family can gain or share two electrons in order to achieve an octet of electrons.
First, determine which family it is in on the periodic table. The group number equals the number of valence electrons that it has. It needs to end up with eight valence electrons to have a full octet. So if it has seven valence electrons, it will gain one electron to be stable. On the other end of the table, it will lose electrons to be stable.